


Parenting 101 with Oliver and Felicity

by FreakingOutGirl



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Dyla - Fandom, Nyssara - Fandom, SmoakNLance, Thea/Roy, olicity - Fandom
Genre: Babies, Birth, Bunch of cute family moments, Diggle as the best godfather, Emilia Queen, F/F, F/M, Felicity Smoak-Queen, Felicity as a BAMF, How to be the best daddy, How to be the best mommy, Kidnapping, Maybe a Diggle-Queen romance..., Nyssa is a very cool aunt, Oliver Queen is a teddy bear for his kids and wife, Oliver is all wrapped around his kids' fingers, Sara is alive, Tommy Queen - Freeform, You might get cavities with all this fluff, and the best everything, olicity always, parenting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-24
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-26 19:37:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 33,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2663897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakingOutGirl/pseuds/FreakingOutGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of drabbles of our vigilante and IT-girl in the complex world of parenthood. Fighting crime is easy when compared to crying babies or the fear of seeing them hurt, but in the end, they are still Oliver and Felicity and they are an unbeatable team. With lessons in parenting from other parents in the show!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. For her

Felicity could feel the eyes of everyone observing her. It was very unnerving, especially while she was walking in high heels and a long dress, two death traps that could make her fall any moment now.

She knew what the plan was, but it didn't make her feel any better. She just hoped Oliver wouldn't be all that mad when he wakes in his hospital bed to find a moody nurse taking care of him, instead of her.

She didn't belong here, in the middle of the Russian elite, but if there was one thing she learned from all those years as Oliver's partner was that there was only a tiny amount of things she couldn't do when rightly pressured. And walking into a party for the Russian elite was definitely not one of them.

Everything had been good and easy until the accident.

It shouldn't be like this. At first there was not even a mission, they were only in Russia to visit QC's branch and nothing more…

_Then, how did they found themselves in something like this once again?_

They had landed in Russia twenty-four hours ago, ready to meet with some businessmen and keep tabs on the work, however, after Anatoly knew about their visit, they were almost obliged to come to one of his parties. Oliver wanted to bail, but when they found out who was going to be there, their plans changed suddenly. In a minute a normal business trip turned into a mission to take down the master mind behind the human traffic of young girls that lately grassed Starling City. Apparently, the Russians were eager to have some American girls in their land. They had searched the man for a long time, unable to track his whereabouts, at least quick enough to get him before he flew, however, when they discovered he was going to be in this party the plan was created.

For all that, it should be Oliver in here with her, if a crazy man hadn't crashed against their car, sending him to the hospital.

"Are you okay?" she heard Diggle asking through the coms and she whispered a yes. "Don't forget, you have to find Dimitrov and put the tracker on him, nothing else…" Dig said and Felicity rolled her eyes, like she could forget her own plan.

They had to come up with a different plan after Oliver's accident. At first, he would walk into the party, as one of the guests of Anatoly, be polite and charming, while Felicity walked hanging in his arm and Diggle waited with the rest of the Russian elite's security men. But now, she was the one that had to walk and be the perfect little woman of Oliver Queen, without Oliver Queen.

"Oh, Felicity!" she heard a voice calling and turned around to see Anatoly walking towards her. She smiled at the man. Even if he was a mafia boss, she still really liked him, with his quick talk and protectiveness of Oliver.

"And where is my friend?" he asked after their normal greetings.

Felicity thanked Oliver's lessons and quickly explained her situation in an almost perfect Russian.

"In the hospital…" she replied simply and saw the man eye her with surprise. "A madman crashed against our car… Oliver broke his arm and had to be taken to surgery to take care of that…" Felicity replied.

It had been incredible difficult to let him in that hospital bed. She had waited for the surgery to end to see him, sleeping with a peaceful expression on his face, and only then she had left to complete the mission.  _He would be so angry!_ But it was their only way to reach the man and damn be her if she let him kidnap and hurt any more girls. He was almost a ghost, and these kind of parties were the only way to find him and where he hide during his businesses in Russia. They were lucky enough to be there at the same time as him.

"I hope he is alright…" Anatoly said and Felicity smiled back.

"Yes, he is, but since you were expecting us, he made me come. He didn't want me to lose the fun of a Russian party…"

"Easy there, don't say too much…" Diggle advised and Felicity's expression froze.

"Well, I never thought Oliver would let you by yourself in the middle of us…" Anatoly said, and Felicity tried to come up with a better story.

"Actually, he didn't…" she whispered, like it was a secret. "He was out cold… and I sneaked out… I wanted to see how it would be… but I didn't thought you would like to know one of your Captains was outsmarted by a woman…" Felicity said, trying to regain the control of the situation.

"Oh, women… they make us think we are in control and then take the rug from under our feet…you are the evolved race, I assure you!" he said, laughing loudly. And then he sobered quickly. "But I know you are not the dumb woman you are trying to portray. If you are here I bet you have something to do, and I advise you to be quick about that, I can't be with you always, and even if Oliver is a captain, there are only a handful of Bratva men here, and we might not be able to be as quick as we would like to." Anatoly said in a rushed whisper, and Felicity knew she had to be quick.

"Thank you. I will follow your advice." Felicity replied, her hand touching his arm softly.

She stepped back and directed her attention to the rest of the party, searching for her target.

"Mr. Dimitrov!" Anatoly said suddenly and Felicity couldn't stop the thought he knew from the beginning what she was really doing in this party.

"Let me present you, Mrs. Queen, one of my closest friends' wife." Anatoly said and Felicity had to stop herself from correcting him.

Dimitrov nodded his head and they traded polite greetings. Using the passage of a man walking with drinks, she stepped closer to Dimitrov, barely touching his arm, but close enough to plant a bug inside his pocket.

After that it would be easy for Diggle to follow him and put the fear of god into him, right before making sure he would be arrested for his crimes.

When Felicity and Diggle finally ended their mission and where ready to get back to the hospital, for the first time that night she checked her phone, but before being able of really eyeing the screen, it started ringing, Sara's face appearing in her phone.

"Hi, Sara!" Felicity greeted happily, after putting her phone on speaker.

"Where in the hell are you and Dig?" Sara asked harshly.

"Oops." Felicity whispered and she heard the other woman sighing."Did he call?"

"Yes, 22 times, after calling you 225 if I remember the numbers correctly." Sara replied in a harsh tone and Felicity noticed that the number was indeed correct, on the back of her screen. "What the hell were you thinking? It was dangerous!"

"Do you know what they say about the kettle and the pot?" Felicity answered with a sigh. Sara was the last person that could really give her a speech about dangerous behavior.

"Cut the crap, Queen!" Sara said.

"Smoak-Queen!" Felicity replied and she heard the other woman sigh.

"Well, since you pulled such an Oliver stunt you are all Queen tonight… Let me be the Smoak part today, okay?" Sara said and Felicity smiled at her friend's words.

"He was kidnapping young girls…I couldn't let him get away with it…" Felicity whispered and the silence on the other side told her Sara understood where she was coming from.

"Emilia is safe… She is sleeping right in front of me, being all cute like her mother…" Sara said and Felicity felt her heart tug inside her chest.

"And Thomas?" she asked and Sara's tired sigh told her all that was to be told.

"That bad, hum?"

"I took him to Verdant…" Sara started and Felicity cut her with a shocked "What?"

"Calm down, it was in the middle of the day, no crazy teens jumping around or loud music… I had a meeting with Thea and I didn't want to leave the kids with my dad or Laurel, they are having too much work already, so I took them with me, I have to enjoy the time with my goddaughter, you know? But let's say that by the end, Roy was definitely needing a shrink…"

"Did you give him popcorn?" Felicity asked and Sara's silence was answer enough.

"He gave me those eyes!" she tried to defend herself and Felicity laughed. "But now he is crashing on the sofa, hopefully for a few more hours… and Emilia is being an angel, like always…"

"I can't imagine the pain a parent goes through when something happens to their kid…" Felicity said, sobering.

"I know why you did it, and I would have done the same thing… But, please, you have to take care of yourself a bit more. You have two kids and a husband that would die if something happens to you!" Sara begged and Felicity looked at Diggle. He was wearing the same stoic expression she had, but she could see how the words impacted on him.

"We are going back… Dig did all the dangerous work…" Felicity said and smiled at her best friend that winked in reply. They were not brother and sister by blood, but they sure were by any other means.

"Tell him I'm mad at him as well!" Sara said, with a lighter tone.

"She showed me those eyes as well…" Dig replied and the woman beside him rolled the said eyes.

"Don't forget that Thomas likes the chocolate milk and Emilia the orange juice! Oh, and when they are eating put Lilo and Stitch on, it will be easier for you to control the damage… and kiss them for me, okay?" Felicity asked.

"See you tomorrow…" Sara said.

"Ready to face the lion?" Dig asked and Felicity bumped her fist in his shoulder.

"Let's do this!"

In the end it took only four words from Felicity for Oliver's anger disintegrate.

"It was for Emilia…"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Being there** _

* * *

 

Felicity was waiting beside the big, black car. Her pristine blue dress and black heels contrasted with the nervous shuffling of her feet.

When, at the distance, she heard the bell's sound, she observed the myriad of heads leaving the school grounds. She was looking for a very specific dark blonde head, taller than the rest of the kids, thanks to her father's genes.

And finally, she noticed the girl's ponytail. She was walking with her head down, while, beside her, a boy whispered quickly with a smirk.

She noticed through her posture that the girl knew it was her mother and not her father coming to pick her up.

Emilia was a daddy's girl through and through. Felicity couldn't suppress a smile every time she remembered Oliver kneeling beside the six-year-old girl and trying to understand what she meant with all those pieces of computer laying around. For all his impatience with Roy, Oliver was a saint to his kids, bless his daddy heart.

"Hey, honey!" Felicity greeted, when the girl reached her. She hugged her mother warmly, and then, looking around, like she was still waiting for her father to pop out and yell "surprise!", she asked.

"Why isn't daddy here? He said he would come…" Emilia said, with a sad tone that broke Felicity's heart.

"I'm sorry, honey, but daddy was in a very important meeting and they wouldn't let him get out… He asked me to tell you he is very sorry and he will make it up to you!" Felicity said, while helping her daughter into the car.

The girl nodded, but still, that same downcast expression remained.

"What was that boy telling you?" Felicity asked, suddenly, remembering the boy's cold smirk.

"Nothing…" Emilia replied, playing with the hem of her shirt.

Felicity's eyes squinted at her daughter's movement. It was a tell-tale of a lie and she knew it all too well.

"Emilia Moira Smoak-Queen, what did I tell you about lying?" Felicity asked, grabbing the girl's hand and squeezing it affectionately.

"Not to…" the girl replied, with a sigh. "Marc Harris was saying his daddy says that daddy only cares about his job… and he doesn't worry about us…" Emilia confessed, crossing her arms defiantly in front of her chest. "I know he loves us very much and I wanted to rub it in his face, but then daddy didn't show up and he was all smug…" Emilia said and for a moment Felicity felt immense proud in her daughter's vocabulary and trust in Oliver.

"Do you know what day it is tomorrow?" Emilia asked.

Felicity tried to remember if any of Emilia's pets' birthday was coming, but was sure her three dogs and two cats' anniversaries were not tomorrow, since the young girl made sure her mother had it color highlighted in her tablet's calendar.

"It's Career Day!" Felicity said, remembering suddenly why she had choose a special outfit for her husband the previous night.

"Yes, and Marc says daddy is going to miss it…" Emilia replied and Felicity traded a look with her friend in the front seat.

"Where does that Harris kid live?" Dig asked and Emilia looked at him with a small smile.

"You can't beat him, Uncle John…" Emilia said and Felicity rolled her eyes, trust Dig to try and frighten a six year old boy when he made his favorite niece sad.

"But I will make sure your daddy won't miss your career day, even if I have to kidnap him from a meeting!" Dig said with an open smile and for the first time since she left school, Emilia really smiled.

"So, what if we go and buy some ice-cream and bring some to daddy and Thomas?" Felicity proposed and her daughter turned her brilliant smile to her and nodded happily.

"Where is Thomas?" Emilia suddenly asked, noticing that her brother was absent.

"Field trip… he is getting home later…" Felicity explained and she noticed her daughter's expression of mirth. "No, you won't try and sneak into his room to take his games!" she advised and had to stop a smug smile when she saw her daughter huffing.

* * *

Oliver was sitting at his desk when the tap-tap of heels and the splatter of children feet echoed inside the house. He looked up and rose to greet his running daughter.

"Hey princess!" Oliver said, hugging his daughter against his chest. "I'm sorry I couldn't go and get you. I really tried, but those old guys really stopped all my tries of running away…"

"Hey daddy! Don't worry, mommy explained and I know your job is important to a lot of people…" she said, all her previous sadness forgotten or well hidden. "We got you mint ice-cream!" Emilia said, pointing towards her mother's arm where a hanging bag could be spotted.

Felicity waited for her daughter to fully greet her father, telling him about her science project and her class of Russian (where she was excelling), before sending her to her room to start on her homework.

"Hey…" Oliver whispered, when his wife was close enough. He let his nose fall against her neck and trail a path until her lips, where he proceeded to plant his own mouth and kiss her slowly.

"Oliver…" Felicity whispered, her forehead resting against his. "We need to talk…" she said and Oliver backed away, his eyes alert and his posture a mile away from his previous demeanor. "There is no danger, that's not that…" Felicity said, letting her hands stroke his chest.

Oliver relaxed a little bit and took her hands, pulling her after him towards the desk. He sat in his chair and pulled Felicity to sit in his lap.

"Explain…" he asked and Felicity told him about what happened with Emilia.

"I just want to make sure you know how important this is to her… I know you do all you can for the kids, you are the best dad I ever met, but…" Felicity said and Oliver nodded.

"But you couldn't not say anything… I understand… Now, about that Harris kid… do you know where he lives?" Oliver asked and Felicity laughed.

"Not you too! Do I have to call Emilia and ask her to give you the puppy Smoak eyes just like she did with Dig? You can't threaten a kid!"

"Oh no, I would talk with his parents and teach them that their kid can't go around making my girl sad!" Oliver replied in a low growl and Felicity shook her head with mirth.

"I think the best thing you can do to help her is showing up tomorrow, and presenting to those kids the pristine and very professional CEO of QC…" Felicity whispered and Oliver growled, his nose running through her jaw line and his lips barely touching her skin.

Felicity felt her husband's hand wandering around her dress, pulling the cloth up her legs when suddenly a loud scream of horror echoed from behind them.

"My eyes! I'm blind! There are kids in this house!" whined the teenager boy with his hands covering his eyes.

"Thomas! You arrived earlier!" Felicity exclaimed, jumping from her husband's lap and trying to smooth her dress.

"I think I arrived too late, actually… No kid should see their parents in that… position… ugh, what did I say?! It's even worse thinking about it now!" the boy was shaking his head pitifully. His dark blond hair covered part of his forehead in an unruly mix of his father and mother.

Oliver chuckled out loud and Thomas scoffed at him.

"Very mature, dad…" he said, but even his lips were trembling with suppressed mirth.

"How was the trip?" Felicity asked, trying to comb his hair just for the boy to step back and undo what she did.

"Excellent! We visited this shooting range! My PE teacher said I had a really good aim with a bow, even the instructors were kind of awed… If I wasn't so young, they would probably think I'm the Green Arrow… or Arsenal, since he is a bit smaller…" Thomas said, with a glint of excitement in his eyes.

Felicity traded a meaningful look with Oliver and saw the doubts in his eyes. None of their kids knew about their team and they wanted to keep it that way, until they were old enough to understand what really meant for their father to go out without the assurance of coming back.

"Where is Mia?" Thomas asked, looking around, noticing his sister's absence.

"Upstairs, hopefully finishing her homework and not that robot she has been playing with…" Oliver said and he saw Thomas' eyes shine. He knew all too well the love of his two kids for everything technological related.

"Go on… you can help her with whatever she is doing… but I want her homework and yours, as well, done, mister!" Felicity said with strict tone and Thomas smiled at her, nodding, before running away.

"Do you really think we could have a third?" Oliver asked and Felicity laughed.

* * *

When Oliver arrived at Queen Consolidated, next day, the first thing he did was make sure his EA didn't scheduled any meeting to that day, making it clear that not even a nuclear war could keep him away from his daughter's school.

Emilia's professor was waiting for Oliver outside the classroom, other parents mingling around and talking about their kids.

"Mr. Queen, is a pleasure to meet you…" the woman said in a very formal tone, while shaking his hand. Oliver wondered if it was his own memories of school or if all the teachers had that way of making you feel like a kid when you meet one, even if you are already a parent yourself.

When he entered the classroom, he immediately spotted his daughter's eager face and her excited waving hand almost punched a boy beside her that scowled at her. He knew who he was, that Harris brat! Even if Felicity didn't give him his address he was still able of entering the school's page and find the kid.

"This is Mr. Queen, he is the CEO of Queen Consolidated, one of the biggest companies in the US and the biggest in Starling City. He will explain to you what it takes to be a business man…" the teacher said and Oliver stepped forward.

He coughed softly and then started talking with a strong and deep voice.

"Being a business man is not easy… Sometimes it takes you away from your family, sometimes it takes you away from a well slept night… but what we do, it helps people having a better life, you can help a science or health division develop a medicine to save lives, you give jobs to a lot of people, you help a city reborn from decay… But it's very important that you understand that team work is the key to have a good result. You can't do it all by yourself. You have to rely on people, you have to trust them, so you can discuss your ideas and be truthful to each other. You are not an island, you are a team." Oliver said, his words ringing much deeper than the children could understand. He was not talking only about being a CEO, he was talking about his other life, the other half that made him complete.

He eyed Emilia and she was smiling so big Oliver felt like his pride would make him implode. He saw her whispering furiously to that Harris kid and how he looked mad about that, while she smiled smugly.

* * *

"Hey, what were you saying to that kid?" Oliver asked, when he picked Emilia from school that afternoon.

"That he was a scoundrel and my daddy just showed him how it was!" Emilia said with her head held high.

" _A scoundrel?_ " Oliver repeated, amused.  _Where in the hell did that kid learned that word?_

"Yes, I heard mommy saying that while watching Harry Potter and it was not about a good guy…" Emilia said, her small face with a very serious expression.

Oliver had to stop his chuckle, but Dig wasn't that quick and Emilia scoffed at him.

"You can laugh, Uncle Dig, but Marc is really a scoundrel…" Emilia replied with a final tone.

No one could discuss his daughter's reasoning and Oliver wouldn't be dumb enough to try and get into a complex conversation with a six year old about the use of words in an everyday environment. He should let that to professionals, also known as Felicity Smoak-Queen. So he settled for a kiss on her soft hair, while the girl spooned against his side.

"You are the best, you know, daddy?" she said, eyeing him with limpid blue eyes.

Oliver felt his heart constrict inside his chest with the trust in her words. He thought about talking with the kid, but luckily he didn't. His daughter was strong enough to fight her own fights and he couldn't be prouder of her.

"Thank you, princess! I will always do everything I can for you!" Oliver replied, a fire behind his words that no one could quench.

"I know…" Emilia nodded, her head falling against his chest, her ear right beside his heart. The beat lulled her to sleep in the short ride, while Oliver observed her with inextinguishable love in his eyes.

 


	3. The Mistakes of Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moira and Felicity talk after the birth of Thomas Queen, finally putting some cards on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moira is alive in this one, because I wrote this before "Seeing Red" and because of that, her relationship with Oliver is strained. Yup, her ending was a big shock for me.

 

Moira Queen was a very assertive woman. No matter what room she entered, she could win the attention of everyone, and guide them like a shepherd. It was not only her poise, but the way she used words to create a path for people to follow her. However, this time, she waited to enter that specific room, imagining the kind of reception she would receive.

She saw Oliver leaving the place a minute ago, his phone tucked against his ear. So, she used the opportunity to enter the room without anyone stopping her.

Inside, Moira found a blonde woman with a bundle inside her arms, cooing softly at it. She could see the loving eyes of the woman behind her glasses and her soft smile when the baby touched her face with his tiny fist.

"Oliver, you were qui…" Felicity started saying, but when her eyes found Moira she cut herself abruptly.

"Mrs. Queen…" Felicity said, surprised. "What…?"

"I'm not here to do any harm…" Moira said, showing the palms of her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I heard that you had the baby and I wanted to congratulate you and Oliver…" Moira said and Felicity noticed the way her voice was caught in her throat.

"Thank you…" Felicity replied. "Do you want to see him?" she asked and noticed Moira's eager expression quickly hidden by a mask of coolness.

"I would love to…" she said plainly, before approaching the bed, where mother and son were resting.

Felicity untucked the baby's blanket and Moira gasped at the beautiful blue eyes observing her back.

"Say hi, Tommy!" Felicity said, grabbing the baby's fist and waving it.

"He is perfect…" Moira whispered, her hand slowly approaching the baby to softly caress his cheek. "You did a good job…"

"I think so myself, thank you!" Felicity retorted with a big proud smile.

The two women eyed each other, smiling for the first time in years.

After their conversation about Thea's birth, they didn't have much contact until the news of Oliver and Felicity's engagement entered the magazines' first pages all over Starling City. Moira was in their wedding, with Walter, supporting, but not really part of that. Her relationship with Oliver was hard, especially after all the Slade Wilson's problems and the consequences of Thea's kidnap that, for a long time, Oliver blamed not only on himself but on his mother as well, making their relationship even colder than it was before. With the years their relationship turned bearable, but it would never be the mother-son connection they once had.

Felicity knew Oliver cared for his mother, that even when he tried to put up a mask of emotionless, she could still see the way his eyes turned far away, like he was remembering a past life, when he was still a boy and she was still mom.

"I'm sorry…" Moira said, suddenly, catching Felicity by surprise.

"About what?"

"What I said that night… about Oliver hating you… obviously it wasn't true, but it was cruel nonetheless… I wanted to stop you… I thought I could make you doubt him… I thought you were just another foolish girl, kissing the floor my son stepped on… I was so mistaken… I talked about the way you looked at him, when I should have seen the way he looked at you… If I had noticed it, I would have known that it would be foolish of me to try and scare you like that…" Moira said, looking intensively at Felicity.

Felicity sighed. She didn't want to share just how hurt she was after that conversation, how she fought with herself about what decision to make, how she doubted herself… Oliver knew and it was all that mattered right now…

"Mrs. Queen, what you did hurt a lot of people… if you had told the truth a lot of things might not have happened, but we never know what our decisions will bring us… I believe you tried to protect your children and now that I have one of my own, I can understand what drove you… but I learned something from your mistakes as well… lies… they are never black and white, they have repercussions not only in our lives, but in the ones' we love, as well… And even if I know it will be impossible to always tell the truth to my son, I will do my best to make sure the lies I have to tell won't make him hate me if he ever finds out…" Felicity said, her eyes observing the now sleeping newborn in her arms.

"I wish I had made that decision years ago… but my secrets were not light ones… I don't know how I could have acted differently and have a happy result…" Moira sighed, biting her lower lip.

"That's the problem of the past… we can't change it, no matter how hard we try…" Felicity replied.

The door behind Moira opened suddenly and Oliver entered. He stopped in his tracks, seeing his mother in the room.

"What are you doing here?" he asked and Felicity admonished him with her eyes. He noticed her expression and rubbed his fingers against each other, trying to calm himself down.

"I was informed my grandson was born and I wanted to congratulate both of you…" Moira said stoically, her frame rigid under the scrutiny of her son.

"Thank you…" Oliver replied, walking around her to sit beside Felicity. His hand shot to stroke softly his son's hair and Moira smiled fondly at the gesture.

"You will be a great parent, Oliver… Both of you, actually…" Moira said and the couple in front of her looked up, surprised at her words.

Moira shuffled her feet nervously, in a very un-Moira fashion, and turning around, headed toward the door.

"Mrs. Queen?" Felicity called and the woman stopped and looked back.

"Maybe when we are at home, you can come and play with Thomas for a bit…" Felicity proposed. Beside her, Oliver moved uncomfortably.

Moira looked at her son, noticing his demeanor.

"I don't think it's a good idea… but thank you…" Moira said, turning around.

"You can come… if you want…" a male voice said and Moira turned to see her son eyeing her.

"It's time we should talk…" Oliver said and Moira nodded.

The Queen matriarch smiled softly and turned around once again. She opened the door and left silently, leaving the family of three behind.

"You are a good woman, Felicity Megan Smoak-Queen…" Oliver whispered, nuzzling her neck.

"No, I'm a mother… and I don't want to deprive my son from meeting his grandmother… he only has two left…" Felicity said and Oliver nodded sadly.

"Even if she threatened you? Or kept dangerous secrets?" Oliver asked.

"Well, we can't talk much about secrets, right?" Felicity replied with a smile and Oliver had to give in; she was right, in matter of secrets they had the biggest one in town.

"Maybe things will be better from now on…" Felicity said.

Oliver shook his head, with a smile.

"They already are…"

And he closed the distance between them, to kiss her softly on the lips.


	4. Please, not him!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Felicity's son has an accident and they are faced with the possibility of losing their child.

* * *

Oliver was sitting at the conference table in Queen Consolidated, hearing a future partner exposing the next project of his company. The man was a good speaker, talking clearly and excitedly about a new program of reduction of CO2 that could help minimize some of the problems Oliver's environmental department was faced with.

The light was down, but even in the semi-obscurity, he would always recognize the frame of the person that just left the elevator and was approaching the room, running in her high heels.

Felicity opened the conference door at the same time Oliver jumped from his seat. The silence fell over the room, while the CEO of QC ran toward the newcomer.

"Felicity, what happened?" he asked, grabbing her arms. She was shaking and he felt his throat constrict, noticing the fear running through her body.

"Tommy's school called… he is in the hospital… they said something about a roof and a fall… _they wouldn't explain anything else, Oliver!_ " Felicity said, panic seizing her voice.

Oliver felt like the room had no air. His mind traveled to a different time, to a different Tommy… to a dying Tommy…

_No, he couldn't lose anyone else!_

Felicity noticed his body's tension and breathed deeply. She grabbed his biceps and grounded him, helping him return to the present.

"Oliver…" she whispered and her voice, working like a charm, put Oliver into a whirl of motion.

Without sparing a second look towards his business partners, he yelled an order to his EA to take care of everything and to reschedule the meeting. If Felicity was in another frame of mind, she would berate him for running away from a meeting, but in that moment, nothing could pass through her mind except the image of a young blue-eyed boy, crying in pain…

Diggle was ready, inside the car, and Felicity barely had time to close the door when Oliver was already yelling for their friend to speed up.

Felicity couldn't stand still, moving her leg in a rhythmic motion or chewing her nails, until Oliver grabbed her hand and squeezed her fingers. She looked up, at his face, and saw his worried eyes facing forward. She noticed his wrinkled forehead and the way his jaw tensed every few seconds. She wanted to say something, to ask what was going through his mind, but before she had the time, the hospital appeared in front of them and her heart started beating a million beats an hour.

Oliver opened the door and, grabbing her hand, they ran towards the emergency doors.

Tommy's English teacher was sitting in the waiting room and suddenly jumped to his feet, noticing the rampaging couple coming his way.

"Mr. Queen… Mrs. Smoak-Queen…" the man said, but Oliver was having none of those pleasantries.

"Where is Thomas? What happened?" he growled and the man stepped back. Felicity grabbed his biceps and squeezed it, stopping him from doing anything that he could later regret.

"He is under observation… They don't let anyone in…" the man explained and Oliver scoffed.

"I'm his father! They have to let me in!" he said and looking around, searched for someone he could put the fear of God into and demand to see his son.

Noticing a passing young nurse, he walked quickly toward her, cutting her path and making her stop abruptly.

"I'm Oliver Queen. My son was brought here, I want to know where he is!" Oliver demanded, with Felicity by his side almost crushing his fingers inside her hand.

"I'm sorry, I don't know where your son is, but you can ask in there…" she said, pointing at a reception desk with a man writing in a computer.

"We need to know where Thomas Queen is!" Felicity said, while still running towards the desk and making the man jump with the sudden appearance of the blonde woman.

"Hum… sure… let me…" he said, typing, while Felicity chewed her tongue, keeping herself from ripping the computer from the man and search it herself.

"He is in the observation room… number 2, but you have to wait… the doctor will be here shortly. But for what I can see it was nothing life-threatening…" the man said and the growl that reached his ears made him jump once again.

"That's my son you are talking about!" Oliver roared and Felicity had to drag him away from the frightened man.

Nonetheless, knowing his son was in no immediate danger, helped Oliver calm down enough to hear the teacher's story.

"I don't know how, but Thomas was able of opening the roof's door… I think they were playing some kind of tag game and when one of the other kids tried to grab him he ran and lost his balance… he fell over a tree and then from there to the floor… he was clutching his arm and we thought it might be broken…" the man said and Oliver pinched his nose.

"Shouldn't those doors be safer? If an eight year old can open it that easily…" Oliver said with a barely concealed threat.

"Yes, but all of us know Thomas is not any eight year old kid…" the teacher said and Felicity felt rage rise inside her.

"Well, if you are saying that just because he is able of building a computer from scratch and understands the economics of this country better than a lot of politics I know, you are wrong!" Felicity replied, and the man had the humbleness of looking ashamed.

It was not flash news to Oliver and Felicity how the intelligence of their son could make him choose less than stellar activities, like blowing up the electric controls of the football field and make the water start pouring right in the middle of the hour of the soccer training Thomas and his friends were kept from attending because of some older students' decision that they should have the field. Enough said that Oliver was called to hear a very angry principal and the parents of said students. In the end, Oliver just remarked how an eight-year old was able to bring fifteen years old to their knees and walked out with a warning to those parents about how they were educating their kids, regarding the respect for others. That night, instead of a punishment, Oliver talked with his son about respect and honor and noticed with pride how different his son was, from the brat Oliver used to be with his age. He blamed it on Felicity.

When they finally were allowed to see their son, they found Thomas in a hospital bed, a cast around his left arm and a sour expression over his face.

"Tommy!" Felicity called, running to her son's side and squishing him against her chest.

"Mom… can't breathe… and broken arm…" he said, while Felicity stepped back, keeping her hands around his shoulders, stroking his neck with her thumb.

"Tommy…" Oliver said, sighing. "You scared us, buddy…"

"I'm sorry…" Thomas said, eyeing his parents. "I was running and then I think I stepped over a puddle and before I could react I was already falling… at least there was a tree… I knew all that recycling would help someday… Mother nature always pays its debts…" Tommy said.

Felicity chuckled and Oliver smiled fondly at his son. If he was making jokes, he was feeling alright and more than anything that was what helped them finally calm down.

"Thomas Robert Queen, please, just be careful, okay?" Felicity asked, eyeing the cast with worry permeating her face.

Oliver was observing the scene, his frame against the room wall, while Felicity chatted with their son. He could remember his mother's words, from all those years ago  _"From the moment your children are born, you worry what the world might do to them."_

In that moment, when Felicity entered the conference room and said those words about his son, he felt like the world was coming down on him, like he was pushed into a tunnel where he could barely fit, where he could barely breathe.

Tommy Merlyn and Tommy Queen's face fused into each other, and Oliver saw himself in front of his son's bleeding body.

His best friend was beside him, clutching his shoulder, and, this time, the one dying was his son.

"Right, dad?" Thomas' voice echoed through Oliver's thoughts and he looked up to see two identical expectant faces.

"Sorry, what?"

"I was saying I can check out free falling from my list of cool things to do and mom said she once jumped off a plane and I just can't believe that…" Thomas said, while Felicity's eyes observed Oliver's tight smile.

"Actually, that is true… I was there to watch her puke afterwards…" Diggle said from the door and Tommy yelled happily at him.

"Uncle Dig! Seriously? Mom jumping off a plane?" he started chattering with John, giving Felicity the time to approach Oliver.

She stopped beside him, her hand sliding from his arm towards his finger, interlocking them.

"Hey…" she said softly, while Tommy showed with his right hand the route of his fall to his godfather.

"Hey…" Oliver whispered back, pulling her against his body, his arm surrounding her back to rest on her hip.

"Don't think about that, Oliver…" Felicity whispered and her husband looked back, at her, surprised.

"You have that look… of when you are thinking about Tommy… about what happened to him…" Felicity said and Oliver sighed.

"When you entered and said something happened I got so scared… I can't imagine what losing Thomas would do to me… I can't understand how a parent can go on when their child is no longer there…" Oliver said, massaging his chest, like there was a hole inside.

"Because parents are strong, they have to be strong for their children, they have to be strong for their partners, and they have to be strong for the rest of the family and their friends… Parents,  ** _the good ones_** , are remarkable… they wake up every day not knowing if their reason to live will be okay when they are apart… and they have to live with that fear, they have to realize they can't be controlled by that…" Felicity said, but Oliver could feel the shivers running through her body. She had that same doubt, even if she tried to be strong for him, and in that moment, Oliver realized that the support of someone you love would be the only thing to help a grieving parent, even if that support came from the memory of the love your child had for you.

Oliver wondered how much his mother had to support, losing both her husband and son, having to explain to a small girl what it meant to die, to never see the people she loved the most again…

And Oliver pulled Felicity more forcefully against his body, like he wanted to fuse her with his body and approached Thomas' bed to grab his neck and kiss his forehead.

"Dad?" he asked, noticing his father's strange glistening eyes.

"I love you, Tommy!" Oliver said.

For the first time in his life, Thomas was seeing his father on the verge of tears.

 

 


	5. Parental Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity asks Oliver if he wants to have kids and Roy gets a dirty shirt in the process...

 

* * *

"Do you want to have kids?"

"What?" Oliver spurted his drink at Felicity's sudden question.

He looked at her, surprised, with her words. They were watching Thea talk with investors to her club, dancing rather than walking, between businessmen and businesswomen alike, like they were nothing more than the normal passerby. Felicity mused that for the young Queen, they were probably just that.

"Did you ever thought about having kids?" she asked once again and Oliver was sure he probably lost a big part of the conversation if that was the question Felicity was really asking.

"What brought that up? Weren't we talking about the new design of Applied Science's energy generator?" Oliver replied, cleaning the spilled drink from his tux.

Felicity grabbed a napkin and proceeded to clean any spot she could see in the black material. She could feel the suspenders under the jacket and had to suppress the sudden desire of ripping the jacket open and drool over Oliver in suspenders.  _What could she say, he looked even hotter in those damn things!_

"The way you were watching Thea… you looked like a proud dad…" Felicity said, smoothing his lapels and turning to observe the people in front of her.

"Oh…" Oliver replied, poorly, still a bit struck by her words.

"Why? Did you think I was asking you if you wanted to have kids with me?" Felicity asked, chuckling at the mere thought of Oliver wondering something like that.

When he didn't answer her question, Felicity turned around to see her boss observing the mob in front of him with a  _bit too much attention_.

"You really thought I was asking that!" Felicity replied in a higher tone than she wanted, gaining the attention of some passerby.

"I mean… you really did" she continued in an almost-whisper. "Wow! Not that I think you wouldn't want to have kids with me, I mean, I would love to have kids with you, well, not with you you, but someone you… you know? Like, you and I having kids but not with each other, unless you want, then I don't have any problem in you being, well, you!" Felicity rambled, until Oliver grabbed her shoulders and squeezed.

"Breathe! You are turning blue!" he joked and Felicity laughed nervously.

However, there was an under tension weighing on their demeanor. Their eyes held more meaning than previously and they felt like the air was a bit heavier than normal.

"So, who is this _you_?" someone asked suddenly and Felicity jumped with a screech.

Roy was looking at them, hands inside his pockets and a mischievous look on his face that they knew all too well. It was obvious the younger man heard everything they said and was enjoying just too much having that kind of information. Not that Felicity's rambles weren't a regular thing, but hearing Oliver's own mistake come bit him in the ass was something worth prizing.

Felicity was looking between Roy and Oliver, her cheeks red and her heart still hammering, when Thea appeared suddenly beside Roy.

"What is going on?" she asked, scrunching her brows at their demeanor.

"Felicity was talking about having…" Roy started saying, but the older woman jumped into the fire and struck him with a glass full of wine.

"Oh Roy, I'm so sorry! I must have slipped… those shoes…" Felicity said, patting his chest, while the dark stains colored his white blouse. It was kind of creepy, Roy thought, how she could use such an innocent expression, while sending daggers through her eyes.

"Roy, you have to go clean this or it will stain!" Thea said, pushing him towards the bathroom.

She saw her boyfriend walk away and then rounded on her brother and Felicity.

"Soooo, what were you talking about?" Thea asked, with a smirk. She was no clueless girl, she could pick Felicity's less than stellar "make-up" fall from a mile away.

"Nothing!" the two of them said, and Thea sniggered under her breath.

"Well, I hope  _"nothing"_  won't make my boyfriend's shirt get ruined or I will be very mad at you!" Thea said, before walking away, leaving the two uncomfortable partners side by side.

"So…" Felicity started.

"So… I think I saw Dig calling me… I'm going to see what he wants…" Oliver said, walking away before Felicity could say anything else.

"Yup, not awkward at all…" Felicity whispered to herself.

"You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of craziness…" Roy said and Felicity rounded on him, ready to punch his chest.

"Stop doing that!" she begged and he smirked. He was wearing a now damp shirt, hidden behind his dark jacket.

"So, are you a bit surer about where you stand with your baby making plans?" he asked and Felicity growled at him under her breath.

"Seriously, that was scary. You sounded just like him…" Roy replied meaningfully and Felicity smirked.

"If I were you I would be careful, Roy Harper… I'm a computer expert, I can maneuver my way around a good editing program, and if you don't want you face correctly glued to a ballerina body and properly released through the Glades and especially Verdant, I would mind my tongue… Remember, I'm a bitch with wifi…" Felicity said, with a smirk on her face.

Roy observed her, while Felicity turned around and walked towards a table filled with food.

_Maybe their sweet girl wasn't all that sweet_ … Roy thought, wondering what evils she was able of creating if she ever walked into the dark side…

* * *

**What can I say, Bitch with wifi had to make an appearance...**

 


	6. Daddy CEO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy witnesses something that would leave criminals in shock. Or dead...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one was inspired by Stephen Amell and his daughter. He is so cute with her!

* * *

If someone said to Roy Harper, just an year ago, that he would find Oliver Queen playing peek a boo with a baby, and the said baby would be giggling and not cowering in fear, he would say that person was drunk or high or drunking high…

However, when he entered the Queen Mansion's Library and found the said Oliver Queen with a baby over his work desk, and some kind of cloth in his hands, he stopped in his tracks to watch the show.

Oliver was still in his CEO attire, his tie askew and his sleeves rolled up, nonetheless, his expression couldn't be farther away from the formal and cool businessman he was during the work hours.

"One more?" Oliver asked, laughingly and the baby squealed when the man dropped the cloth over his face and quickly took it away.

Oliver repeated the gesture two more times, always followed by a delighted squeal from the baby.

The baby's giggle increased when Oliver started kissing him all over his face and body, tickling his small feet.

"If the Arrow's enemies could see him right now…" Roy commented, his arms crossed in front of his chest and his body draped against the door frame.

"If the Arrow's enemies saw him right now, it would be the last thing they saw…" Oliver said, his tone changing quickly from endearing to a cruel and vindictive one.

The baby noticed the change and small whimpers fell from his lips.

"Thomas…" Oliver whispered, kissing him on the cheek and pulling him against his broad chest. "Sorry, daddy didn't mean to scare you…" he cooed against the baby's right ear and Thomas nuzzled against his neck, his eyelids dropping slowly, but steadily.

Oliver sent a " _be quiet or I will kill you_ " kind of look toward Roy and the younger man showed his palms in a pacifying gesture. It was not a good idea to cross Oliver when Thomas was around...

Oliver took Thomas to a small crib right beside his leather couch and after making sure he was tucked and sound asleep, he closed the distance between Roy and his previous position.

"What happened?" Oliver asked, no longer a playful expression over his face.

"Nothing… I was just wondering if Felicity was home…" Roy said and Oliver observed the boy with shrewd eyes.

"And why do you need Felicity?" Oliver replied and noticed Roy's nervous movements, his eyes jumping everywhere but his face and the clenching of his hands.

"Nothing…" a female voice said from behind them. "...that concerns an overprotective CEO…"

Felicity walked swiftly towards them, her arms full with shopping bags from the nearest baby shop.

"Did you get that special formula I read about?" Oliver asked, trying to peak into the bags.

"I'm the one that carried him for nine months, never forget that Oliver Queen! I will never forget something you talked about 32 times!" Felicity said, with a reproachful look on her face.

That was another thing Roy never thought he would see. Not the Felicity-is-done-with-Oliver-shit part, since that was a bit of an everyday thing, and in 9 out of 10 it ended in a gross making out, but  _The Oliver Queen, part CEO part masked hero,_  asking about baby formula that  _he_ read about… that was another thing altogether… at least, before Thomas made his appearance in this world…

Roy stood there, in the middle of the room, watching Felicity tiptoe towards the crib and get that mesmerized look he learned to associate with baby gazing. Beside her, Oliver held her waist, watching their son. It looked like their spar just a moment ago didn't even exist in the first place.

When Felicity finally remembered about Roy's presence, she kissed Oliver softly on the corner of his mouth and walked towards Roy.

"So, Roy, should we go to my study?" Felicity asked, already dragging the younger man by his elbow.

Oliver saw the two of them walk away and was ready to follow them and eavesdrop, when Thomas whimpered.

"Already on your mother's side…" Oliver whispered while his son's squirming increased.

* * *

"Are you sure he won't come after us?" Roy asked and Felicity nodded.

"Tommy is like a clock, I can almost guess when he will need a diaper change…" the woman replied with a mischievous look on her face.

"Seriously? You are betting my life, or prolonging it, at least, through your son's poop?" Roy asked, his shocked face making Felicity laugh.

"Believe me, Tommy is going to be a momma's boy forever… Now, let's talk about rings…"

 


	7. A lesson in love and death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity receives some bad news and her boys are there to take care of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote his before 3x05 and before knowing anything about Donna Smoak. And I felt like shit when I realized what a cupcake she was, but I really liked Tommy in this one, so...

* * *

"Daddy, what means  _dead_?" a small, cute voice asked suddenly from beside the almost asleep man's head.

Oliver jumped from his draped position on the couch to look at his son with surprised and shocked eyes.

"Why are you asking that, Tommy?" Oliver replied, rising from the couch and gesturing for his son to sit beside him.

"Mommy is crying on the bedroom… she was talking on the phone… she was saying someone was dead…" Tommy said, his eyes fearful. "I want to tell you… I don't want mommy to cry…" Tommy said, his own blue eyes filling with tears.

Oliver hissed under his breath and ran all the way towards his bedroom. His heart was hammering inside his chest. What was happening? Someone was dying? Or dead? Or was it Felicity? Oliver remembered she went to her doctor a week ago…  _oh no, please don´t!_

_Oh gosh, please, let it not be Felicity!_

And he ran even quicker, his long legs taking him closer and closer to his wife,  _but not quick enough…_

When he opened the bedroom door, he found Felicity quickly cleaning her eyes.

Without saying anything, he closed the distance between them and enveloped her body under his arms. She cried against his chest and he kissed her hair repeatedly. And it was only when her sobs stopped that he made her sit and created a sudden distance between them, which was quickly erased, when she chose his lap to sit, instead of the bed.

"Felicity…" Oliver whispered, combing her hair with his fingers and watching her pale face smile sadly.

"It was a neighbor of my mother…" she whispered and she didn't have to say anything else for Oliver to understand what was going on.

He felt his heart implode with a sudden care and deep love for this remarkable woman, if that was even possible, after all their years together. He knew how her mother was a bad influence, how she ignored her daughter, and blamed the young girl for her husband's departure, how Felicity had to fend for herself, how she had to grow quicker than it should have been… and now, she was crying for that woman, because, no matter what happened, she was still Felicity and she still cared for a mother that never cared for her… the little girl with brown hair still lived inside the heart of the strong blonde woman, and still dreamed of a past that could happen, where her mother could be a confident, a friend… and not what she was…

"Felicity…" Oliver whispered.

"Do you know that she didn't want me in there? The funeral happened last week… but the neighbor was cleaning the house and found some papers about me… and thought about calling…" Felicity said, with a hint of bitterness that Oliver hated to hear, it was mixed with sadness and regret and pain and it broke Oliver's heart.

When Oliver was still thinking about what to say in face of that information, a small pair of feet echoed beside the door and the shadow of a child appeared in the doorway.

Thomas entered his parents' room, his elephant toy tucked under his arm and his expression worried. Oliver noticed his trembling lip and gestured for him to come closer. Tommy didn't wait for a second invitation and ran into his parents' waiting arms.

Felicity squeezed him against her chest, while Oliver hugged them both.

"I love you, mommy!" Tommy said against her collarbone and Felicity sobbed softly.

"I love you so much, Thomas… so much…" she whispered, feeling the soft skin of her son warming her, in more ways than just physically.

"I don't want to see you cry…" he whispered and Felicity's eyes clouded with guilt.

"You won't see it again, baby. Mommy just hurt herself with something, but now everything is good…" she said, eyeing her son deeply, in a way that always left Oliver awed, it was like they didn't need words to convey their feelings, like they could talk only with their eyes.

"Now, why won't we let mommy rest for a bit, okay?" Oliver asked and Tommy looked at him, doubtfully. He didn't want to let his mommy alone, but his daddy's eyes held a message that he clearly understood.

When the two men tucked Felicity into the bed and Tommy let his plush toy right beside her head and after kissing her repeatedly, they walked out, hand in hand.

"Daddy, I don't know what dead means, but I don't like it!" Tommy said with such deep animosity that Oliver stopped to see his son's expression. "It made mommy cry…" the young boy said, walking away with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Oliver ran behind him, his hand hovering over his son's head.

"Don't worry, we will protect mommy from it…" Oliver said, his voice wavering in fear that someday his son might know the pain of losing a parent sooner than they would wish for.

Oliver guided his son towards the kitchen to ask Raisa for Felicity's favorites.

 


	8. Not the best way to tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blurting something like this was never a good idea, but when it saves Oliver's life it's worth it...

Felicity was acting weird.

Oliver noticed it, Diggle noticed it, Sara noticed it, for God's sake, even Roy noticed it.

However, when Oliver tried to persuade her into telling what was going on, he only received a wave of the hand, while she typed with the other one on her computer.

He even tried to seduce her, buying her favorite wine and favorite seafood. But everything he got was her wrinkled nose and a shake of her head, followed by her quick steps towards their bedroom.

"Oliver, I don't think you should be doing this…" Felicity said, while the team perused over her screen, where a map of a Russian city could be seen.

"You have nothing to worry. It's just a down of being a Bratva captain, I have to keep my place in their ranks secure. You know how much it helped us during the years…" Oliver said, while Diggle nodded his accordance.

"I don't like it! Maybe we should get Sara and Roy here and have more backup…" Felicity proposed and Oliver sighed.

"Felicity, you are the one that always come up with plans for our cover stories… Do you have any that could explain why I would send my private jet to transport Sara and Roy to Russia without anyone, especially the board of QC, knowing? We are here to check on QC Russian branch, don't forget that!" Oliver said, noticing the way Felicity's eyes diverted from his when he looked full on at her.

" _What are you hiding?_ " Oliver asked and Felicity opened her mouth to answer, when he cut her. "And don't say nothing. I think we have passed that a long time ago…"

Felicity worried her lower lip and kept her mouth shut. Oliver roared and walked way, his loud voice echoing inside their hotel room.

"Fine, if you want to be like that, be like that!" he said, before closing the door with a loud bang.

"Wow, don't you think it was a bit too much?" Dig said, when Oliver found him outside the room, probably ready to enter it.

"Yes, but I wanted to make her tell me the truth… Something is going on, all of us tried different tactics to make her talk…" Oliver said, pinching his nose. Felicity's silence was starting to get on his nerves. Not because he didn't want her to have a personal part of her, just for her, but because he was worried she might be sick or something like that and keeping that a secret so she could protect them and keep them from worrying.

Oliver's phone started ringing suddenly and when he looked down, Anatoly's number appeared. He looked back towards the door and sighed.

"I will talk to her later…" he said, putting his earpiece inside its proper place.

Diggle walked behind him, making sure he would have an escape plan and some kind of support in case something went wrong.

Inside the hotel room, Felicity could follow Oliver's GPS tracker in her screens, her heart squeezing painfully when remembering their fight. She wanted to tell him when he accused her of not trusting him, she really did, but she didn't want to make him lose his focus, since Felicity knew Oliver wouldn't back out from his mission.

However, when Oliver kept pushing his luck, ignoring Diggle's recommendations and Felicity's warnings, she really put in balance telling him her secret, maybe it was a low blow, but she was sure it would make him realize just how reckless he was acting.

"Shit!" she hear him growl after a violent metal sound echoed inside her ears.

"Oliver, stand back! They have heavy machinery! It's a trap!" she yelled, not worrying about what their neighbors might think.

"Felicity, I can end this!" Oliver replied, breathing deeply. She could imagine his bended frame, his hands over his knees and the sweat running through his body.

"No! Oliver, I don't want our son to be an orphan!" she said and suddenly, all the noise that Oliver and Dig's voices created disappeared. The two men were eerily quiet and Felicity felt like the silence was oppressing her chest.

"Dig…" she heard Oliver whisper simply and the other man answered immediately.

"Copy that…"

Felicity sighed, rubbing her temples with her fingers. She knew what was coming, she knew there was a storm brewing behind Oliver's silence and she really didn't want to see that happen, but now was too late, now she had to face the music, or rather, Oliver's angry face.

Her reticence in telling him had nothing to do with her worry that he might not want a child, but rather, how it would change his view of his work as the vigilante. Would he stop doing that and blame her? She didn't believe that, but she knew that he would change his action, knowing that there was a small being dependent of him, waiting for his safe return, at home, but at the same time, weak against the dangers of the world.

And when the suite door opened and Oliver walked inside with his normal clothes on and without Diggle, she knew they had to have a talk right now, and not keep it away until they got home.

Oliver stopped in front of her and sat in the leather couch, eyeing her with blank eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he whispered and Felicity fidgeted with her fingers.

"I'm sorry… I didn't want to put another burden over your shoulders while you were out there… I know how you worry about me, about the team, how you want to protect us… and since we got together and married how you fight harder to come back to me… and I was scared… I was scared you felt too pressured to come back home that you might lose some kind of focus, or that you could fight harder because you wanted to protect the baby… I don't know… my mind was all over the place… I wanted to tell you so hard… but then something always come up… and… I don't know…" Felicity rambled, without looking him in the eyes.

"Hey…" he whispered, his hand cradling her jaw and pulling her face up to eye him. "What you said… it just shows you know me better than anyone… You are right, I will fight harder to come back to you, the both of you, but at the same time, I will make sure I can protect you from all the evil in this world… I love you, Felicity… There's no choice to make when I think you might be in danger, I will always choose you, and now, our child as well… But I can promise you that I will fight harder than ever to come back to you safe and sound… to tuck the baby with you every night… or tell him stories through the earpiece… I will keep you safe!" Oliver vowed, his thumb stroking her jaw and lips and Felicity felt her breathing pattern rise, while her blood ran quicker through her veins.

"Oliver…" she whispered lustily and saw with a mischievous smile his eyes darken.

* * *

When Oliver rose his head from her naked chest, hours later, Felicity whimpered with dissatisfaction. She tried to pull him against her body once more, but he smiled at her, and rose nonetheless, grabbing his phone and crouching beside the bed where she was laying.

"What are you…?" she started asking, when she saw her husband turning the phone's camera in her belly's direction. "Are you really going to…?" she enquired, the sound of the camera giving her her answer.

"I will never lose the track of time again…" Oliver said, putting the phone away and slipping into bed behind her.

Felicity didn't have to ask what he meant. She knew those five years away from Starling City still plagued Oliver, the way he lost Thea's grow, the way he changed, the way Christmas and all the other festivities he used to enjoy with his family lost their meaning while out there… He was a man running after time, he was a man that still tried to gain back those five years he lost, but if there was one thing those years gave him and he would never give up was the sense that he had to fight for what was important, he had to fight for the really meaningful things, just like an IT blonde girl that saw right through his lies, but that accepted his dark side nonetheless. And now, he would fight for this baby as well, to protect him and see him grow, teaching him all he could, with Felicity right beside him, berating him when he tried to spoil their child.

"I love you…" Oliver said, and for once, Felicity was happy he was not saying that to her, but to her belly, where their unborn child rest, protected from the world.

 


	9. Four times

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three times Oliver saw Felicity with a baby that was not hers and one it was.

* * *

The first time Oliver saw Felicity with a baby in her arms it was so sudden, so unexpected, that he had to backtrack in his quick stride towards his office on the upper floors.

Felicity was cooing at a baby nestled against her chest, happily talking with a co-worker, someone Oliver knew vaguely from the IT- department, from the times he wondered in there, looking for Felicity. The other woman was definitely the baby's mother, sharing the same reddish curly hair and freckles. However, the sight of Felicity with a baby did something to his insides that he couldn't completely understand. It was like they were buzzing with electricity and, at the same time, disappeared suddenly, like when someone was on a rollercoaster.

When his EA noticed his presence, she smiled at him, grabbing the baby's hand and waving it. Those gestures did nothing to calm his ranging heart, which made Oliver confused and mad at himself. He turned around without saying a word and walked away rigidly, leaving behind a very surprised Felicity.

* * *

The second time Oliver saw Felicity with a baby was a bit more expected, since QC was having a "Bring the family to work" day. It was the anniversary of the company and his PR thought it would be a good boost of confidence to his workers. Oliver nodded absently, too worried at the time with Felicity's broken arm, to really notice what implications it might bring to him.

"Look, Oliver!" Felicity gushed, noticing a baby with a very distinctive green onesie with a green hood and a smiling arrow in his chest. She ran towards the proud father, laughing at his choice of attire…  _If only the poor man really knew who was his hero…_

Felicity took the baby that the man was giving her and rocked her when she started whimpering. She turned to show the small child to Oliver so suddenly he had no chance to run. Sending him a look,  ** _the look_** , Felicity obliged him to walk forward. He really didn't want to approach a beaming Felicity holding a baby…

"Isn't she gorgeous?" she asked and Oliver sighed.

"Yes, definitely…" he said, without Felicity perceiving that he was looking at her and not the baby.

"Mr. Queen, would you like to hold her?" the father asked and Oliver felt like all the air inside his lungs suddenly disappeared. He was ready to say no, when Felicity subtly stepped on his foot.

"Sure…" he said, bending a little so Felicity could give him the baby. Now, that was really not an image he wanted to have in his mind. Felicity, in all her happiness, reaching for him, giving him a beaming baby and hovering like she was the mother and he was the father. Nonetheless, it was too late, and now, it felt like that frame of Felicity's arms touching his, the two of them holding the baby, was imprinted on his mind.

Later, while perusing the photos taken during the day, he zoomed in one of them, the one with the two of them and the baby, their soft smiles while watching the child.

Oliver saved the picture in his private folder.

* * *

When Diggle and Lyla's son was born, Felicity was the first one to reach them, her heels clicking on the hospital floor and her dress flying around her in a cloud of red.

When Oliver reached the room, after walking slower behind the bubbly blonde, Felicity was already with the baby in her arms. Lyla and Diggle started laughing when Oliver appeared at the door and if he wasn't so mesmerized by Felicity he would have asked what was so funny.

"Oh, I want one!" Felicity gushed, her eyes jumping towards Oliver who felt like his tongue just disappeared from his mouth. "I mean, not now… but someday, you know… when I marry someone… or I don't have to marry, it's not really a necessary thing… we could be an unmarried couple… not we as in you and I, you know, just in general… we as an unidentified entity…" Felicity babbled, while the baby gurgled in her arms and Diggle and Lyla kept laughing to each other.

_Seriously, what was so funny?_

* * *

The next time he saw Felicity with a baby in her arms none of the previous thoughts invaded his mind.

His only reaction was a bright smile and a soft kiss on her lips, while the two of them beamed at their sleeping son.

And now, he understood what was so funny all those years ago…

 


	10. Awkward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy thinks Felicity is cheating on his dad, but is she?

* * *

Thomas Queen used to gloat to his friends about his sneaky exits from the house… without telling them that every time he returned his mother would be sitting in the living room reading a book…  _Yup, not that sneaky at all…_

Which was why, when he returned that night, much earlier than normal because of his impending Math test, he was surprised at not finding his mom awaiting him.

While trying to walk as swiftly as possible through the hallway of his parents' room a sudden crash made him stop. The sound came from his parents' room, followed by a giggle he could identify anywhere.  _What the hell was his mother doing?_

For some moments, Thomas thought about knocking on Mia's door, remembering right after that, that she was in a sleepover in one of her friends' house.

His father was not at home, he was sure he heard his parents talking, at dinner, about a sudden meeting or gala that he would need to be at…

So, fearing that something deeply wrong might be happening, Thomas walked towards his parents' bedroom.

He could hear his mother's voice now, her giggles and… something that made him deeply nauseated, another person's voice… another person that was not his father…. This voice was much deeper and ruff and Thomas felt a chill invading his senses…

_It couldn't be happening!_

"You know, my husband would be deeply affronted if he found out…" Thomas heard his mother say and had to stop himself from gagging _. No, his mother, his sweet caring mother couldn't be doing that to his father! To their family!_ She loved his father, they were too displaying in their love for each other, sneaking glances when they thought no one was looking, sneaking during galas to do only god knows what (Thomas really didn't want to picture that), kissing each other with such abandonment…

_Gosh, what on earth was happening?_

Thomas thought about walking away, locking himself in his bedroom and never coming out… but the remembrance of having to face his mother in the morning made him stop in his tracks. He couldn't face her with that doubt in his mind! He had to know, be it the worst of his theories or just a silly show that his mother might be watching…

Thomas walked towards the door. It was not entirely closed, which helped him understand that whoever was inside was not expecting the early arrival of a teenaged boy.

"So, can your CEO do that?" the man's voice asked once again and Thomas cringed at hearing his mother moaned answer. He felt like all the color drained from his face and the faint spell he was keeping at bay was approaching quicker than he could support.

He rose his trembling hand, from shock or fury, he was not sure, and pushed the door open with a loud bang, making it struck against the wall and dent it with its doorknob.

What he found inside was far away from his theories and, at the same time, relieved him and grossed him more than he could find possible.

"Thomas?" Felicity squealed, hiding herself behind the covers.

"Mom?" he replied, his eyes wide in shock.

"Thomas?" the man asked while all the color drained from his face.

"Dad?" Thomas whispered, feeling the roaring wave that had enveloped his ears slowly go away.

" _Don't you knock?_ " Felicity asked, her red forehead the only visible part of her body.

Without understanding the reason, Tommy saw his father roaring in laugh and his mother snickering.

"Now, this was an occasion to knock…" Oliver said and Thomas never wanted so much in his life for a hole to open under his feet.

He really didn't want to look at his parents, but the green smudge around his father's eyes and his strange attire made him cringe even more.

"Oh shit, please don't tell me you were roleplaying!" he said, closing his eyes as soon as that idea struck him.

Felicity and Oliver looked at each other. He was still wearing his Arrow attire, his voice modulator now turned off… but not even Felicity could come up with a better cover story than the one their son just found.

"It keeps the flame on…" Felicity said, cringing at her own words, while beside her, she could feel Oliver trembling with barely suppressed laughter.

"I thought you were with another man… it was not dad's voice!" Thomas tried to explain his actions.

"We like to be thorough…" Oliver replied and Thomas gagged.

" _Please, don't_ …" he begged, before turning around and running from the scene.

"Wow, he could give Barry a good adversary…" Oliver noted. Felicity looked at him, trying to keep a serious face, but her husband's expression and their present predicament only made her start laughing, tears running from her eyes while she hugged her naked belly.

The next day, when the family was sitting at the breakfast table, the embarrassment radiated from Tommy in waves.

"What is going on?" Emilia asked, putting her bag down next to the table and eyeing her brother. "It's like you saw dad and mom making out…" she said deadpan.

Thomas jumped to his feet and squeaked.

"I'm going to school!" he yelled before running away.

"Seriously, what is going on?" Emilia asked, eyeing her parents. "Please, don't tell me he is finally having that awkward part of his teenage years?"

Felicity and Oliver looked at each other and shrugged his shoulders. Who were they to say anything about their ten year old daughter's wise comments about teens?

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seriously, poor Tommy... I laughed so hard while writing it...
> 
> Yes, Oliver found new ways to use his Arrow attire... probably the mission was dangerous and they had a lot of adrenaline to burn... (and with the kids, I can imagine them having a freaking cool underground lair under the house with a secret tunnel that ends in the hoods, no pun intended...)


	11. Heir to the CEO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver stops himself from punching some journalists, but only barely...

* * *

"Oliver…" Felicity whispered, squeezing his hand. She was observing the crowd through the car windows, her eyes wide with shock.

He noticed the reason of her discomfort, a mob of reporters were elbowing each other for the chance of taking a picture of them. He could feel Felicity's erecting her protective walls, while her other arm hugged herself.

"Hey… you know how to act around them… You have been doing this for years!" Oliver reassured her in a soothing voice, while Diggle turned the car towards the parking lot.

"John…" Felicity called and Dig stopped the car. It was not an everyday occurrence for her to use his first name, she developed a care for his nickname and only used his given one when she was bracing herself for a particular act of braveness or when she wanted to be stern. "I will walk from here…" she said and the two men looked at her, surprised.

"Are you sure?" Oliver asked, trying to understand if she was ready or if it was just a reckless action from her part.

"The sooner they know, the better…" she said with a quick kiss to his lips.

Diggle left the car to open their door, helping Felicity in her way out. He smiled his brotherly smile at her and squeezed her fingers quickly.

"Let's face the music…" Felicity whispered to herself. She was facing the ground, but as soon as Oliver's hand found hers and his metal band touched her fingers, she looked up, a soft smile over her features. She rubbed his wedding ring absently, while walking towards the reports. Diggle was walking beside her, on the other side.

"Is it true the Queen family will have a new heir? How will it change the current status of the company?" a big-bellied man asked, pushing the micro in Felicity's face. She pushed it away gently and smiled at the man, while crushing Oliver's fingers. Diggle growled at the man, piercing him with his eyes, but Felicity touched his elbow for him to calm down, it was enough that Oliver was keeping an iron grip in her waist with the arm she was not holding.

"Are you thinking about putting Mrs. Smoak-Queen as a major member of the board?"

"Is your job as Head of Applied Sciences in peril?"

Their voices mingled and buzzed together. Felicity could already feel a headache approaching, but nonetheless, tried to keep her mask in place.

"We will have a press conference regarding all these informations, so you can rest assured, you will be able of doing your job without a big hustle…" Felicity said and Oliver could almost feel the sarcasm cleverly hidden, dripping from every word.

"Mr. Queen, how do you feel about becoming a father? Are you afraid of what your child will think of your actions as a youth?" someone asked and Oliver turned around like a tornado.

"I will make everything in my power to protect my child, especially from vultures like you!" he spitted, dragging Felicity behind him, into the building.

Diggle stood behind, trying to push the journalists away, while the couple made their retreat.

His longer legs almost made her run to keep up with his strides, however, he stopped as soon as the doors were closed behind them. The air was fresher inside, but the noise from outside could still be heard, muffled, but audible all the same.

"Where was your " _You know how to act around them… You have been doing this for years"_ speech in those last two minutes?" Felicity asked, pointing with her thumb towards the press still pressed against the doors.

Oliver rolled his eyes and Felicity squeezed his biceps, while they walked towards the elevator.

"I know why you reacted like that…" she said softly, while Oliver crossed his arms in front of his chest. He grumbled under his breath, but didn't say a thing. "It was because they put your ability of being a father in check…" she continued, resigned to have a unidirectional conversation. "They are wrong, you know…"

"How do you know? For all we know I can screw this up… he might hate me or worse… don't feel anything for me… what if he tries following my footsteps in my reckless behavior? How could I make him see that drinking and partying wasn't such a good thing? That by the end of the week, he would feel just as hollow as I did?" Oliver said, finally uncrossing his arms and looking directly into Felicity's eyes.

"You just gave yourself that answer… all you said shows that you are more than ready for this! You realize your past mistakes and you understand why you made them… You can help our child in not making them, by talking with him… by helping him seeing that he has a loving family, that he doesn't have to indulge in drugs and alcohol to feel safe and loved… and that if his mother ever sees him like that would make him regret the day he was born!" Felicity replied, smiling at him. "I think what we have to worry is you spoiling him too much!" she said in a fake stern voice.

Oliver's hand stretched to stroke her cheek softly. Felicity closed her eyes and left her face fall against his fingers.

"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" he whispered and Felicity opened her eyes.

"If I recall correctly, all you had to do was say "Felicity Smoak? Hi, I'm Oliver Queen!", but that could also be applied to the first time I received some of your BS…" Felicity recalled and Oliver smiled at her.

"Nope, you were a much harder nut to crack…" he said, and before she could recount all the problems that rose between them and their happy ending, the elevator door opened to her floor.

"See you later…" she whispered, kissing him softly on the lips, while his hands roamed over her belly.

"I will get your lunch today!" Oliver said, while Felicity walked away, missing her rolling eyes. She waved at him, smiling at his overprotective nature. She was not even showing and he was already like this… hopefully, his overloading nature could be helpful when her feet swell and a feet massage is really welcome.

 


	12. The accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity and Emilia have an accident. How bad is it?

* * *

"Dad, how long is mom going to take? I'm hungry!"

Thomas's voice sounded beside a deep in thoughts Oliver. The man jumped at his son sudden appearance and he looked down, to his wrist. His clock read 8.30 pm, way later than it was normal for the rest of their family to be home.

Oliver put away the papers he was reading concerning some QC's business and he was already grabbing his phone when it ringed inside his fingers.

"It must be mom…" Oliver said to his son, and without looking at the caller ID, he answered it.

"Mr. Queen?" an unknown male voice spoke from the other side and Oliver's brows furrowed. That was definitely not Felicity.

"Yes…" Oliver answered slowly, noticing loud voices and others noises on the other side of the call.

"I'm Officer Liam… We are calling because there has been an accident with your wife… She is at Starling West Hospital… your daughter is here as well… we need you to come here…" the officer said and before Oliver could really think about his actions, he was pocketing his phone and running outside, with Thomas hot on his heels.

"Dad!" the boy called, but Oliver's ears were deaf to anything beside the officer's words echoing over and over inside his head. The rush of blood inside his head was making it hard to keep a cold demeanor and his heart was hammering inside his chest. Suddenly a strong smell of blood invaded his nostrils and Oliver had to stop to retch beside his car.

Thomas stopped in front of him and touched his arms softly, squeezing it.

As suddenly as the scent appeared, it disappeared and Oliver realized he was letting his emotions run over his rational mind. Right now, Felicity and Emilia needed Oliver Queen, the CEO, rational, logical and calm and not Oliver Queen, the husband and father, a wreck of emotions and always weak to those blue eyes of his girls.

"Thomas, get in the car!" Oliver said, and when he heard the sound of his son's seat belt, he started the car and left the premises of their home.

* * *

The hospital was a myriad of sounds, scents and images. He tried to run as quick as possible through the mobs, but people kept pushing him backwards. With Thomas inside his arms, however, Oliver shouldered his way through the group of people, until he saw a nurse typing in a computer.

"Emilia Moira Smoak-Queen! Felicity Megan Smoak-Queen! They had an accident, I'm Emilia's father and Felicity's husband!" Oliver yelled, scaring the woman that screeched at his sudden appearance.

When she realized what he was asking, the nurse quickly typed the names and read the information about Felicity's status.

"She is in surgery… Apparently there was an exposed fracture of her femur… But your daughter is in room 6, resting…" the nurse said, and before she could say anything else, Oliver was already running towards the infirmary.

Room 6 was right to the left. There, Oliver found a teary Emilia being stitched up on her arm, a woman speaking softly to her, trying to calm her down.

"Daddy!" Emilia screamed as soon as Oliver entered the room. Thomas' eyes widen at his sister's injuries and for some moments, Oliver wondered if he had to contend with two crying children. Luckily, Thomas controlled himself and jumping from his father's arms, he ran to his sister, putting one of his arms over her shoulder.

Oliver had to hold himself back. Seeing someone stitching his daughter was making weird things to his fists and rage control, even if it was for her own good. When the nurse finally finished, he almost flew to engulf his daughter in a bear hug, kissing her hair and her cheeks, noticing the scratches in her face, some blood smeared in her forehead and arms and her torn and dirty clothes.

"Baby, what happened?" Oliver asked and his daughter's big eyes widen.

"Mommy saved me…" she whispered and before she could say anything else, she started crying. Between the sobs he understood the words "blood" and "so much" and it made his stomach churn.

A sudden movement behind them, made Oliver turn around, his arms around both of his kids. But it was just an officer, probably the same that called him barely twenty minutes ago.

"Mr. Queen?" the officer called and Oliver nodded. He stepped away from his children, kissing them on the head and asking for them to keep quiet and calm while he talked with that man.

"What happened? Where is my wife?" Oliver whispered furiously, trying to contain his fury for the sake of Thomas and Emilia, who were too scared already.

"Your wife and daughter were crossing a street when a drunk driver appeared. He didn't stop at the red light and apparently your wife was quick enough to hear the sound of the car and pull your daughter out of the way. She was hit and the man crashed against a pole. He died instantly." The officer stated and Oliver had to repress his darker nature, before it said what he was really thinking about the man.

"And about my wife's injuries?" Oliver inquired.

"She had an exposed fracture of her femur which is why she is in surgery, a twisted wrist and two broken ribs. The rest can be explained by her doctor, but this is the rough sketch of the situation…"

"She will be fine…." Oliver sighed. According to the man's words, even if her state was far from healthy none of the injuries were life threatening, the ones that worried him the most were her broken ribs, he knew how a bitch those could be, and her wrist, because Oliver knew all too well how grumpy Felicity could get when unable to do her work.

"Yes, she will. She was very lucky…" the officer replied and Oliver noticed how the man's face changed to an awed expression. "When we received the call we thought we would find a dead body…" he confessed and Oliver smiled smugly to the man's surprise.

"That's my wife for you, always remarkable in everything she does!" he said and the officer couldn't stop his shocked expression at such display of affection.

When hours later, they were finally able of seeing Felicity, the waiting room was already filled with Diggle, Thea, Roy, Sara, Nyssa (that was spending a short time in Starling City) and Quentin. During that time, the kids spent it hearing stories from Nyssa that Oliver learned was an amazing babysitter to his kids, even if sometimes, Sara had to squeeze her arm when she forgot just how old her audience was and entered into some kind of Rated-R part of the stories.

As soon as Oliver entered his wife's room, with each of their children grabbing his hands, he felt like his lungs just deflated inside his chest. She had bruises around her arms and neck, some scratches in her cheeks, one of her legs was inside a cast, a wrist immobilized and her breathing pattern somewhat erratic. Even if he was expecting it, he could never be prepared to see the woman he loved in that kind of state.

However, the smile she gave her family almost made them forget about all her injuries.

"Mommy!" Thomas and Emilia screeched, their eyes filled with tears and they ran towards her. They would have jumped all over her, if Oliver wasn't quick enough and grabbed the back of their shirts, stopping their reckless race.

"Careful!" he admonished.

Thomas and Emilia looked at him, ashamed, and nodded their heads, walking slowly towards their mother and stroking her arms where there were no bruises.

"Felicity…" Oliver whispered, when he reached her, his knuckles touched her jaw and the lower part of her cheek. He was careful to avoid her injuries like their kids and she smiled thankfully at their thoughtfulness.

"Hi…" she said softly.

Oliver closed his eyes and let her voice wash over him like a wave.

"Hey…" he whispered back, finally at peace.

 

 


	13. Travel Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's plan doesn't go as according and a night in the airport is waiting for him...

* * *

Oliver Queen never had a problem with planes. He liked to fly and he was really good at it. Flying whenever he wanted was never a problem when you had a private jet at you beck and call.

However, when the said jet decided that its motor was no longer able of taking his owner home, Oliver Queen was left far from happy with his present situation.

So, he foolishly took his wife's advice.

"You can always come in a normal plane. They are fast as well, you know? I think you are too spoiled with your private jet, the rest of the world travels this way…" she said through the phone and he could almost hear her rolling her eyes at his spoiled upbringing. He, more than anyone else, knew how comfortable it felt to have all you want just away from a snap of your fingers or your credit card, especially after the Gambit's accident.

And so, believing that after surviving in that island, a few hours in an airport was no big deal, Oliver bought a passage first thing in the morning to Starling City.

And that's how he found himself trapped in an airport in the middle of a snow storm, surrounded by strangers and big luggage, away from his family and even more important, from his son's first soccer game of the season. He promised he would be there, supporting him, and now, here he was, with no clue of when they would fly and when he could get home.

"Felicity…" he whispered on the phone when her chirpy voice answered. "I'm trapped!"

"What?! Oliver! Was it an enemy? Do they know who you are? Do you have any weapons with you? Should I call and see where Sara is? I remember her telling me she would be in Paris this week…" Felicity answered in a quick succession of words, and Oliver could already hear her fingers typing away in her computer.

"No, no! That's not it! I'm trapped in the airport! There's a snow storm…" Oliver replied with a low chuckle. He could imagine Felicity's worried look and that more than the warm jacket he wore, warmed his body all over.

"Thank God!" she sighed and through the phone he knew she was moving in her chair, away from her computer, probably to watch what the kids were doing in the living room. "Well, not thank God you are trapped in an airport… you know what I meant…"

"But I don't know when we will be able to fly… I will miss Tommy's game…" Oliver sighed.

From the other side he heard two voices joining in the conversation.

"Daddy!" Emilia yelled and Oliver heard a crashing sound.

"Shoot, Mia, be careful! That was a very expensive lamp!" Felicity said and Oliver chuckled at his family's antics.

"You don't have to worry, dad…" Tommy said and Oliver realized he probably took the phone from his mother's hand and walked away, since the voices of his two girls were disappearing in the distance. "I understand… besides this game is not that good… the coach told me he won't let me play, because I still have that injury in my knee…" Thomas said and Oliver realized his son wasn't really worried about his absence from the game.

"I know, but I wanted to go all the same…" Oliver stated, feeling inadequate in his role as a father.

"Hey, don't you believe in me? Don't worry, just don't freeze to death! You still have to teach me that trick with the bike…"

"What trick with the bike? Oliver Jonas Queen, if I know you are letting our son drive your motorcycle I will kill you!" Felicity yelled, suddenly too close.

"Oops…" Thomas said and he laughed. "Sorry dad, got to go. Bye!"

"Daddy, mommy is using her loud voice, you should be worried!" Emilia yelled from the back and Oliver laughed out loud, gaining the attention of some of his neighbors.

"Don't worry, honey. I will talk with mommy when I get back!" Oliver replied and he heard his daughter saying her goodbyes before scurrying away.

"You better do!" Felicity said, but Oliver could hear she was not really angry. She knew he would never put any of their kids in danger. "Tell us when you get a plane. We will be waiting! Love you." Felicity sang in his ear and Oliver replied with the same intensity and devotion.

* * *

When Oliver Queen's feet finally touched Starling City's ground he sighed in relieve.  _He was finally home!_

Walking through the airport, he started looking around, trying to spot his family inside the mob of waiting people.

"I should have known!" he chuckled, when he spotted them.

Felicity, with the help of Thomas and Emilia was grabbing a huge poster with his name written in bold green letters and a lot of glitter around it. Someone that probably tried to resemble himself, with a tie and a suit, was drawn right under his name.

"Daddy!" Emilia yelled, running toward him and hugging his legs, before he crouched and held her against his chest.

"Hey dad, are those white hairs or is it unmelted snow?" Thomas asked when he reached his father.

"Very funny, buddy. Your father is still a youth!" Oliver laughed, his hand messing with his son's hair.

"Hey…" Felicity said, when she stopped right beside him.

Their bodies bended towards each other's, like they were trying to mold each other unconsciously. Oliver smiled softly at her, while her hand found the one that just let go of Thomas' hair and squeezed it.

"I missed you…" Felicity whispered and Oliver's smile turned into the private one he only used with her.

"I missed you too…" he said back, his fingers stroking her hand.

"Let's go home…" Felicity said.

 


	14. Lili

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First words are very important...

* * *

The crying of the infant echoed through the darkened and sleepy house.

Felicity woke up slowly, the whimpers resonating inside her skull.  _She felt so tired!_  She wondered if she could stay put, pretending the screams didn't wake her up and let other people work It out…

When the running feet passed her door, she sighed and rose from her comfy bed. She might be needed and so, putting on her slippers, she walked slowly towards her door. Walking into the lit hallway, she saw the door next to hers open and two individuals bending over a crib. When they heard her approaching, Diggle turned around with an apologetic face.

"I'm sorry, Felicity… I know it's the third time tonight, but…" he tried to say, while Lyla rocked the baby from side to side.

"It's his teeth…" Lyla explained, eyeing the way the baby savaged his pacifier.

"Don't worry… you are the ones helping me out…" Felicity said with a smile, eyeing the family of three with something akin to longing. For what, she couldn't be sure and too tired to try and come up with an explanation.

However, when Andrew woke her up four more times that night, she really regretted not sleeping at the lair while she could.

* * *

"You look awful!" was the first thing Roy said as soon as Felicity stepped into the lair.

"Oh, gee, you shouldn't be that polite!" Felicity replied back, moodily. Sleep deprivation and Felicity Smoak were not a good combination.

Roy stepped back, putting his hands up in a sign of peace and Felicity sighed. She was letting her moodiness get the best out of her.

"Are you sure you want to stay with Diggle while your house is being reformed?" Oliver asked from the top of the salmon ladder and Felicity had to look up to see his face.

"Yes, Andrew isn't that bad, the problem is his teeth are growing and making him cry." Felicity said, trying to control a yawn.

"If you want, you could stay in my place." Oliver replied, jumping in front of her.

Felicity had a sudden flash of a very domestic Oliver preparing breakfast to the both of them and had to swallow the words she really wanted to say.

* * *

Two days later, when she arrived at the lair, a flushed, if you could use that word with the man, John Diggle appeared in front of her.

"Felicity! Thanks for small mercies!" the man stated and Felicity felt her heart jump.

"Did something happen? Was it Oliver? Is he hurt or was it Roy?" she quickly fired the question and Dig shook his head no each time.

"Oliver had a problem with the bike and he can't walk around The Glades in his Arrow attire… so I have to get him, but…"

"Is that Andrew?!" Felicity almost yelled, noticing the small whimpers coming from her desk.

She ran to the boy, noticing his waving arms right beside her computer screen. She pushed the baby away from the computers and scoffed at Diggle.

"You are so lucky kids can't remember things at Andrew's age or else you would have a lot to explain…"

"It's not my fault… Lyla had a diplomatic emergency and she left me in charge, but then Oliver called and…" Dig sighed, while grabbing the car keys. "Just… take care of each other, okay? We will be back soon…"

Felicity saw her friend disappear behind the door, while the boy beside her gurgled absently.

To feel secure about the situation, she decided to hack the traffic cameras to follow her boys' moves. She could see a shadow running over The Glades' roofs and imagined Roy jumping around. Luckily only someone that knew what to look for would discern the moving person between the darkness of the night. After that, she followed Dig's car through his GPS tracker, until he stopped in front of an old factory.

Andrew's loud cries made her step back from her own surveillance and try to rock him with only one hand. When it made no change, Felicity grabbed the baby and brought him against her chest. He quieted a little bit while playing with her hair and for some moments the lair was silent.

She sat once again, with the baby on her arms and started typing with only one hand to warn Roy about a robbery close to his location and guide him to the place.

"You really should learn how to say my name…" Felicity said, when Andrew started pulling on her hair, tired of her ignoring him. "Let's try… Aunt Felicity… Aunt Felicity… C'mon, you are always hearing my name!" Felicity begged, with a pout. The baby smiled at her, and Felicity couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her face. "Seriously… I'm your godmother, you should be able to say my name… Felicity…"

"Fissty…"

"What?!" Felicity shouted and the baby jumped in her arms. "Oh, sorry! Oh my god, you just said my name!"

"Fissty…" Andrew babbled again and Felicity giggled, making the boy smile. She danced with him around the lair, until heavy footsteps echoed over her and the door opened to let Oliver and Diggle enter.

"Guys!" Felicity yelled and she saw Oliver ran towards her.

"What happened?" he asked and Felicity smiled at him. Whispering a few words into Andrew's ear, she showed the baby to the men and let him work his magic.

"Fissty!" he yelled with a giggle and Dig and Oliver smiled openly at them.

"That's my kid!" Diggle said, taking the baby from Felicity's arms and playing with him.

Felicity noticed Oliver's competitive look on his eyes and smiled inwardly.  _Ah! This time she was the winner, Andrew said her name first!_

A few days after that, while walking silently through her house, she found Oliver with Andrew in her study. They were going to have dinner to celebrate the renovations in her house and all the gang was around her place.

"Oliver… Oliver…" Oliver was saying and Felicity had to stop herself from laughing out loud. He looked like he wanted to hypnotize the kid. She was ready to walk away when Andrew spoke.

"Lili…" he said and it was too much for Felicity. Her laugh boomed suddenly and only increased at Oliver's affronted expression when he turned to look at her.

"We are going to eat, you two should come… Lili…" she said, before walking away, laughing like a maniac.

When the rest of the team asked what was going on, she only answered "You have to ask Lili…"

 


	15. Nightly conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a pleasant milestone, Oliver and Felicity talk about their baby's future.

* * *

" _Ow!_ " the pained sound echoed in the dark room with clarity.

Oliver's eyes opened immediately, his stance going from deeply asleep to ready to fight in a nanosecond. The sudden exclamation of pain that came from his side was more effective in waking him up than a bucket full of iced water could ever be.  _Especially right now…_

He looked towards the source of the sound and found his wife with her eyes wide open. He scooted closer immediately, kneeling beside her, on the bed.

"What is going on? Are you in pain? Do you need to go to a hospital?" Oliver fired the questions quickly, barely giving his wife time to answer.

"I'm fine… I'm not in pain… I was just… surprised…" Felicity quickly replied and he noticed how her hand hovered over her belly.

"Are you sure? Is it the baby?" Oliver asked and Felicity smiled.

She stretched her hand to grab his and pulled it against her belly. For a few moments he was left wondering what the hell his wife was trying to show him and was ready to question her when a sudden movement under his fingers made him jump.

_His son just moved inside Felicity's belly! He just felt him!_

He could feel the small activity that resembled some kind of kicks and Oliver looked up, mesmerized, at Felicity.

"He is moving!" Oliver exclaimed with wonder and Felicity laughed.

"Kicking around since the womb… I think someone takes after his daddy…" Felicity said with a happy, proud smile.

Oliver left his hand over her belly, the movements of his son grounding him more than anything could ever do.

"Hopefully he takes after his mother as well… God knows what mischief he might get himself into if he doesn't have some kind of responsibility…" Felicity stated with a smirk and Oliver laughed at her words.

"Sure, honey, whatever you say…" he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Should we start counting the time when you entered and underground casino? Or when you jumped out of a plane? Maybe the times you hacked into the bureau databases, your youth hacking or…" Oliver started recounting, but Felicity interrupted him with her laugh.

"Okay, okay, I get it, the kid is screwed anyway…" she said fondly and Oliver smiled.

"At least we are all screwed together…" Oliver laughed, feeling the movements decrease and then stop.

Felicity rubbed her belly and laid down once again, bringing Oliver with her.

"Do you think he will be happy?" Felicity asked suddenly while Oliver stroked her neck with his nose.

Oliver moved back to look at her seriously. He knew what she was thinking… Could they have a kid and keep doing what they did? Could they lie to him and have a relationship of respect and trust? Could they be good parents and provide everything their son needed, not only through material things, but giving him the love and protection he needed? Could they ever tell him what they did to protect the city? Would he think the Arrow was a hero or a criminal?

"We will rise him with the values of courage and respect… We will help him find his own path and not create the one we want him to walk through… We will let him make his choices, but we will help him when he needs us, and sometimes when he thinks he doesn't need us… we will give all of ourselves so he can be all of himself… We can't ask more from ourselves… Sometimes we just have to trust that fate will be on our side…" Oliver sighed deeply, letting his head fall against her collarbone.

"When did you became so eloquent?" Felicity asked with a fond smile.

"When I realized I had to step up my game so this blonde girl with glasses I fell in love with wouldn't walk away from me…" Oliver replied and Felicity laughed.

She sighed, and kissed his forehead, letting her eyelids drop.

For a few moments they were silent. When Oliver was barely conscious, he heard Felicity half whisper to him.

"You will be the best father in the world…"

 


	16. The Heroes of Starling City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emilia just shows who are the real heroes in her life

 When Oliver arrived at home, that night, the first person he found was his wife. She was in his study, some papers inside her hands. But what scared him more than anything else was her eyes. They were red and unshed tears shone on them.

"Felicity!" Oliver yelled, running to her.

His hands jumped to her shoulders, squeezing worriedly her body.

"What happened? Was it the kids? Or Thea? Is Dig okay? Roy? Sara?" Oliver asked quickly, his hands never leaving Felicity's body.

When she finally looked up, at his face, he was taken aback. She was almost crying all right, but she was wearing her fond smile, the one reserved for their children.

"Are you crying and smiling?" Oliver asked, confused at his wife's demeanor.

Her smile grew, even if her lower lip trembled.

"Read this…" she whispered, extending her hand to give him the sheets of paper she had been holding.

Oliver accepted the papers with some trepidation and when he turned them around to read it, he immediately recognized his daughter's handwriting. Keeping one of his hands against Felicity's body, in some kind of grounding measure, he started reading his daughter's words.

**_The Heroes of Starling City_ **

**_By Emilia Moira Queen_ **

_In our city, heroes and villains live side by side, walking the same streets, shopping in the same stores, breathing the same air…_

_There are multitudes of heroes walking around us. For once, you can count the police department, especially when a detective is still able of getting time to take a kid to a baseball game after her breaking her leg in a similar game and being unable to play for the rest of the season. But you can also count the aunt that works hard, struggling with her business but still has time to smile and joke with her family. Or the uncle that keeps you protected from bullies and teach you how to defend yourself. Or the godfather that is always able of getting you out of trouble… Or even the godmother that makes you smile and helps you remember that no woman should suffer because of a man. It could be a lawyer defending an innocent in front of a jury, or a mother dying to protect her children, to give them a future…_

_But, even if that people are heroes, you still have those special ones, the ones that always will be there to save you no matter what. They are the heroes of your life, your safety net while you are walking on the wire… They are the sun that helps you create energy and the rain that helps you grow. They are the rainbow and the treasure at the end of it…_

_Heroes are not only guys with green masks saving people from criminal master minds (not that those are not important, they really are, they can give us a sense of protection)… But the ones that matter the most are the mother and the father smiling at you when you wake up and awaiting your return after school…_

_They are an IT specialist, head of her department, bubbly, shiny, brilliant and a CEO, master of his company, caring, protective, strong… But for me, they are not the woman and man that helped countless of people, that give those jobs and something worth working for… They are mom and dad, and even if masked heroes are important and save the city, it is my parents that keep me safe everyday…_

_They are the true heroes of Starling…_

Oliver looked up from the page, his own heart so squeezed tight he felt he could barely feel it. He could see his expression mirrored in Felicity's face.

"Emilia…" Oliver whispered, letting his forehead fall against his wife's.

"I found this in her backpack when I was putting in her authorization for next week's trip…" Felicity replied, her hands still touching Oliver.

Oliver couldn't express through words what he was feeling in that moment… The level of maturity, of love, of care that his daughter was showing in her words made his heart soar with unconstrained love and he could feel through Felicity's demeanor that she was having a similar reaction.

Oliver closed his eyes and sighed, bringing Felicity closer and hugging her.

"We are some damn lucky parents…" he whispered against her hair and he felt her chuckle under her breath.

"We really are…" she murmured back.

Oliver never intended for those words to fall from his lips, but they did anyway.

"The first time I called myself a hero was after defeating Slade… I think it was the first time I let myself believe that I could really be what you already knew I could be…"

"There was never a doubt in my mind about that… and apparently our daughter shares the same brilliant brain of her mother…"

"She sure does… and so much more…" Oliver breathed with shiny eyes and a shinier smile.

 


	17. Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's fears show his heart's true desires...

Oliver was walking in front of the Queen mansion, the sun, high on the sky, warming his body. Around him an exuberant and well cared of grass grew, softening his footsteps. Looking around at the blue luminescent sky, Oliver felt in peace. No storm in sight, no wind to ruffle his peaceful demeanor…  _He was happy…_

Behind him, Oliver heard someone shouting and for a moment he ignored it, until the voice approached and he caught the word being yelled.

Turning around, Oliver found himself watching a little girl running towards him, her pigtails flying around her head, while her soft yellow dress with red spots moved with each action of her legs. She was beautiful…

"Daddy!" the little girl yelled and Oliver crouched in front of her, his arms open and inviting like he had done that a million times.

The girl kissed his cheeks, his nose and his forehead, giggling when his stubble touched her face.

"Daddy!" the little girl yelled excitedly. She stretched her hands in front of his face and with a delighted smile said "Look! I have new paint! It's mommy's!"

Oliver looked down towards his daughter's open hands and felt liquid ice invade his veins. His girl's hands were coated with a red liquid, with a distinct rusty smell that he would recognize anywhere. Her fingers were dripping with it and Oliver grabbed her arms and distanced them from her trunk. The things he had thought as red spots were actually drops of blood, dirtying his daughter's innocent dress.

And then, her words ringed again inside his head.

"You said mommy's?" Oliver gasped and the girl nodded quickly.

He could feel the ice invade his heart and it felt like it was ending his beating movements.

Behind the girl, Oliver noticed a figure approaching them. It was a woman with a white floating dress, her long blond hair flying around her face in a halo. Oliver felt his heart in his throat when he recognized the glasses she was wearing.

When Felicity approached them, however, he noticed that her normally pristine pink lips had the lipstick all smeared around her mouth and that her hands were strangely put together in front of her big belly.

"Oliver…" she whispered, and when she did it, a gulp of blood gushed from her lips towards the front of her dress. She looked surprised at that and when she moved her hands, Oliver's stomach revolved and he felt acid rise in his mouth.

Her pregnant belly was covered in blood, a huge gash in her dress and a hole right where the baby should be.

"Mommy…" Oliver heard the little girl cry.

But Felicity didn't hear it. She was already falling to her knees, while Oliver stayed put, unable to move a muscle. He recognized that wound, it was made by a blade, a sword, which many years ago had taken his mother from him and his sister. It had impaled her like it apparently did with Felicity.

And then she started screaming in pain, and Oliver tried to move, to run, to help her, save her, do anything… And the little girl was whimpering and crying beside him, and she couldn't move as well… The only thing they could do was watch Felicity fall to the ground…

Oliver tried to do anything, but the only thing he was able of doing was covering his ears, yelling her name, feeling the tears run down his face, while his world crashed around him…

"No, no, no, Felicity... Please!" he yelled, closing his eyes, trying to distance himself from the pain.

" _Oliver! Oliver!_ " a voice was calling, screaming actually and Oliver opened his eyes to see, not a fallen woman and a crying girl, but a figure cut against the lights of his new lair.

"You are awake!" Felicity sighed, with a smile and Oliver felt his heart beat faster.

"Felicity?" he whispered, like it was a miracle. She smiled at him, softly and Oliver felt the tears fall from his eyes.

Felicity looked shocked at him, but choose not to comment on his emotional breakdown.

"Diggle was able of finding an antidote…" she said, while Oliver noticed he was laying on the medical table, the cold sipping into his skin.

"What?" he asked and Felicity turned to observe his confused stare.

"Don't you remember what happened? With the robber in the bank? How they drugged you with a long term effect gas? How you arrived here like always and then started convulsing and yelling about someone and blood?" Felicity replied and Oliver shook his head.

She looked worriedly at him, but seeing his worried expression, she quickly calmed her own mind and grabbing his hand, she squeezed his fingers.

"Do you want to tell me what you saw?" she asked and noticing Oliver's silence, she smiled at him, and turned to walk away, leaving him with his own thoughts. But before she could really walk further, he grabbed her hand and stopped her.

"I saw you dying…" he breathed and Felicity turned around. He decided it was better not to tell about the little girl or the unborn baby…

"I'm here, safe…" Felicity stated, bending to kiss him lightly on the forehead. She squeezed his fingers and Oliver smiled softly.

He could see her in front of him, safe and sound, her radiant smile warming his body. But he could also see, as clear as Felicity, the little girl with the pigtails and Felicity's eyes. He could see her running around the lair, questioning its inhabitants about the countless weapons and fight techniques, jumping into Felicity's lap while she was typing in her computers, cheering him when he finished the salmon leader…

"Yes, you are…" Oliver said and more softly, so she couldn't hear. "And so will she, someday…"

 


	18. Parents' cheering squad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because embarrassing parents in a soccer game is all a teen wants, right?

 

"Oh, c'mon! What the hell? Are you crazy? Are you watching this?" Oliver yelled pointing furiously in front. He turned to see the woman beside him rolling her eyes in amusement. She was calm, watching the game with pure intent and quick eyes.

A growl rose from the crowd and Oliver howled again and jumped to his feet, his hands around his mouth while he kept yelling.

"Are you serious? Open your eyes! That was a foul, you bastard! Are you fuc…"

" _OLIVER!_ " Felicity yelled, stopping him from completing that sentence.

Oliver tried to look sheepish, but the fight behind his eyes was still too strong to help him get away with any kind of innocent expression right now.

"We are at a kids' soccer game!" she angrily whispered, pulling him down to sit next to her once again. "You can't say stuff like that!"

Oliver sighed deeply, looking around to see a bunch of other parents snickering at their display and other kids peeking curiously through their parents' arms.

"Ooohhh, someone is going to sleep on the couch…" a voice came from beside Felicity and the couple looked down to see their daughter with a mischievous look on her face.

"Who told you to say that?" Oliver asked and Emilia's smile brightened.

"Not gonna tell…" she sang, and her innocent blue eyes and beaming smile made Oliver shake his head in amusement. He was too whipped by this little kid for it to be even funny…

"Uncle Roy will have some explanations to give…" Felicity stated sweetly and saw with a proud smile her daughter's expression fell.

"Please, don't be mad with uncle Roy!" she begged, pouting and Felicity had to look away from her daughter. Damn, that Oliver pout that Emilia was so good at reproducing.

Felicity turned around to see her husband smirking at her and as an answer she slapped him on the chest.

For a few moments, Oliver was distracted, laughing with his family, but then a sudden roar from the crowd around him, made him look back at the field. There was an isolated player running with other two of the opposite team chasing him. Oliver rose from his seat, his mouth opening to yell for his son to run faster and score the goal when one of the two players running behind him kicked his son on the back of his legs, making him fall and roll over the grass.

"WHAT THE HELL? YOU MORONIC SON OF A B…"

"Felicity, we are at a kids' soccer game…" Oliver sang beside her, a smug expression plastered all over his face.

"But that stupid kid could have hurt my baby!" Felicity yelled, already on her feet, while Oliver laughed beside her.

The truth was he wanted to punch the kid that dared to hurt his son, but seeing the boy jump to his feet almost immediately gave him the reprieve to watch his wife freak out.

When the game ended, Felicity almost ran to the locker room, only stopped by Oliver's strong arm and his assurance that a beautiful woman entering a boys' locker room was not a good idea in any way, not even when half of these kids were a normal occurrence at their home every Sunday afternoon.

"Tommy!" Felicity yelled when she saw her son emerge with his hair wet and his sports bag over his shoulder.

"Hey mom…" he replied, letting his mother hug him and kiss him on the cheek. "For any instance, were you the crazy woman yelling about a moronic son of a something?" he asked with a big grin while his father high fived him.

"I have no idea what you are talking about…" Felicity replied quickly, her eyes daring her son to try and rebuke her answer. But Tommy knew better and so, he diverted himself from that dangerous path.

"So, how many swear words did dad say?" he asked and Emilia shrugged her shoulders.

"I lost count after fifty four…" she replied with a smile and Tommy laughed.

"Maybe you should be the only one to come, kid… I think we have to ground mom and dad…" Tommy said, with a big smile, while his sister jumped around him.

Oliver and Felicity rolled their eyes at each other.

_Yeah, right, like someone could keep them from embarrassing their son in front of a crowd of soccer enthusiasts._


	19. Daddy's girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because Oliver is wrapped around his daughter's little finger.

 

John Diggle was a strong man, able of controlling his emotions like no one else. And it was especially useful when you work with someone like Oliver Queen, the king of bipolarity.

However, when John found himself facing a very impatient Oliver, with a pink fairy dress on his hands, and a daughter sulking away because of this choice of Halloween costume for her, the man couldn't stop himself from snorting out loud.  _Very out loud._

Oliver turned suddenly, his eyes sending dagger towards his friend and daring him to say anything else.

John just smirked and pointed at his watch. Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and then rubbing his thumb and index finger together. John had to stop himself from asking if he wanted his bow.

But that, was exactly what the source of this domestic war was.

"Please, Emilia, we need to leave! Mom will be mad at us!" Oliver was begging, almost groveling in front of his daughter, but the girl kept her arms crossed, and a stubborn expression on her face.

Diggle was faced with the choice of telling Oliver the girl looked exactly like him when he was being a pain in the ass. But since he was the one who had to train with the man, he choose to keep his mouth shut. Live to fight another day was his motto. And his wife agreed.

"I don't want to go as a fairy. I told you so. They are unrealistic!" Emilia replied, her blue eyes flashing with anger.

Oliver sighed, his defeated expression telling Diggle the war was won by a seven year old girl with a high vocabulary and the smirk that he was trying to keep at bay was impossible to stop.

"Oh yes, laugh all you want. I can't wait for Andrew or Annie to start pulling at your buttons!" Oliver said dramatically and Diggle thanked for his very easy going son, that was already on his teens, and his sweet and calm daughter that still believed in Santa Claus. Well, Emilia was very easy going when someone was not crossing her, so Oliver couldn't complain all that much…

"Are you sure you want that other costume?" Oliver asked, begging for her to say no, but luck was not on his side, since the girl nodded her head enthusiastically.

_Crisis averted…_ Diggle thought, while he balked out from the room to get the car ready and call Tommy.

The teenager boy was already ready, with an inmate costume, completed with a serial number and the name Queen tagged on his breast pocket. Diggle was immediately transported to a past where he saw the father of that kid being imprisoned and wearing a smirk just like that one.

Like he was reading Diggle's mind, Tommy asked.

"Do I look like dad?" and John laughed at the kid's big smile.  _Those Queens were crazy!_

"Finally…" he heard Tommy whisper when his father and sister appeared. But he couldn't stop the laugh from leaving his lips when he saw his little sister walking proudly beside their father.

When they arrived at the party QC was organizing for the workers and their families, Oliver barely had time to say hello to his sister when she passed through him. Tommy quickly walked away to talk with some of his friends and Diggle mingled, searching for Lyla, Annie and Andrew.

"Oliver!" he heard Felicity yell and turned around to see her walking towards him with a Mulan costume, sword in tow. "Why are you in a tux?"

"I'm Queen… Oliver Queen…" Oliver replied, with a smirk and saw his wife rolling her eyes. Then, her eyes fell towards their daughter and he saw them bulge. And then she laughed,  _she laughed outright at him._

"So, no pink fairy dress?" Felicity asked and Oliver sighed, while their daughter turned to let her mother see the green leather that was evolving her body.

"I have a bow too!" Emilia said happily, showing the bow and quiver to her mother.

"Oh, my little Arrow!" Felicity gushed and her daughter beamed, before running to chase some kids in a game of tag.

When Emilia disappeared, Felicity looked at Oliver with mirth in her eyes.

"She looks kind of cute…" Felicity said and Oliver groaned. "C'mon, it's not like she will go arrowing people around…"

"Knowing her she is well capable of doing that…" Oliver replied fondly, and Felicity giggled.

"C'mon, let's eat something!" Felicity said, pulling Oliver behind her.

"I just hope there are no more Arrow costumes around…" he whispered.

Not a minute later, Oliver found himself sending daggers to a Roy with a red leather suit, while three other people draped in green and red leather walked around them.

Felicity choose not to comment on it…

 


	20. Baby books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyla's pregnancy affects everyone's reading habits...

"Felicity, is there something you want to tell me?" Oliver asked, with a smirk, when he found her immersed in a pregnancy book.

"What?" Felicity replied, confused at his words, but noticing where his eyes were glued to, she blushed and started babbling. "I'm not pregnant! You should know that! I mean, not that we did anything that would give you the knowledge or that you would be the only one with the ability to impregnate me! Not that you do not have that ability, I'm sure you could to that!"

In the middle of her ramble, Felicity missed the way Oliver flinched at her last words, and kept going, moving the book around.

"What I meant is that since you are my roommate you would know if I had any guests around… Not that we would make a big noise, but… oh god, just shut me up already!" Felicity groaned knocking her head with the book.

Oliver smiled softly at her, realizing she had no idea how close to home her words hit. Deciding to ignore that pang from the past, Oliver sat beside her on the couch.

"I know you are not pregnant, Felicity… And I bet you are reading this because of Lyla… Now, what really confound me is why you are reading the chapter about the birth…" Oliver said. "Are you a doctor and you never told us?"

Felicity rolled her eyes and slapped him on the arm.

"Idiot… I'm reading it because what if Lyla goes into labor when I'm the only one around? What if we don't have time to go to a hospital? Do you really want to be with a pregnant woman giving birth and have no idea of what to do?" Felicity asked with a recriminatory look and Oliver rose his hands in a peace motion.

"Okay, okay…" Oliver laughed, turning around to grab a newspaper he had bought but didn't have time to read.

"You should read this as well… Dig is doing it too…" Felicity said suddenly and Oliver scoffed.

"Well, I'm not planning on being with Lyla by myself when her belly is ready to burst…" Oliver replied ironically and Felicity huffed.

"For your own good I hope you are right… Roy is reading my notes, you know?" Felicity added unexpectedly and Oliver laughed out loud.

" _Roy?_  Seriously? Did Dig pressure him into doing it?" Oliver asked. Somehow he couldn't see his friend threatening Roy into reading the bunch of notes Felicity was probably doing.

"No, I did. And you really should follow his example as well… I really don't want you to call me at 3 am because you don't know what to do..." Felicity replied, while Oliver read the sports news.

"Yeah, sure… I bet they are all reading the books…" Oliver muttered, too low for Felicity to hear. He observed her for a few minutes highlighting some passages, muttering under her breath and turning the book upside down for some kind of image to make sense (he shuddered to think what the image might be…)

Felicity was asleep when her phone started ringing. Blindly, her hand stretched from under her covers, but she couldn't find it. Odd, she always left it in her bedside table just into the reach of her arm. Suddenly, her memories returned, and Felicity realized she was not on her bed.

_Oh right, the accident._

That afternoon, Felicity and Diggle had an accident. Nothing Arrow related, but one of their tires blew up, capsize their car and breaking her leg and Diggle's arm in the process. For a matter of safety, the doctors didn't let them go home for the night, since there was some swelling in their heads and they were worried about the effects it might bring.

When she finally reached her phone and put it against her ear, the first thing she heard was Oliver's gasped voice.

"Felicity?"

"What happened?" she replied, suddenly awake. She knew that tone of voice anywhere.

"We kind of have a situation here…" Oliver said and Felicity heard an angry woman's voice in the background.

"A situation? Are you crazy?"

"Is that Lyla? Why are you…? Oh shit, she is in labor! But that's too soon!" Felicity yelled, jumping in her bed and then gasping in pain because of her leg. "Is Roy with you?" she asked and Oliver's silence told her as much.

"I don't know what to do…" Oliver whispered afraid and if the situation wasn't so serious, Felicity would have laughed out loud and told him  _"I told you so…"_

"Okay, how much time is there between them? Did her water broke already?" Felicity asked quickly and her only answer was a " _hein?"_  growled.

Felicity sighed and barely stopped herself from face palming.

But then, she heard Oliver's voice once again, this time a relieved tone.

"They stopped…" he whispered, like he was afraid that they might come back if he was too loud.

"OOhh!" Felicity said, realizing what happened. "That's why they were too soon… It must be Braxton Hicks…" she said and could almost see Oliver's face of confusion. "They are not true contractions, at least, not the ones you have when you are in labor… not that you could be in labor, it's anatomical impossible… well except for Schwarzenegger…" Felicity laughed to herself, remember the odd movie she saw many years ago.

"So, everything is alright?" Oliver asked and Felicity laughed.

When Felicity returned home the next day, she found a new stack of books in her coffee table. Looking at Oliver with raised brows, he shrugged his shoulders.

"I learned my lesson…" he said, when Felicity laughed at the eight new books about pregnancy and baby care she was faced with.

"You are something else, Oliver Queen…" she muttered with a fond smile.

 


	21. Oliver should know better…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy's gift giving is incredibly funny and shipping...

* * *

Oliver should know better…

He really should, but Felicity kept saying he should trust the younger member of their team, that Roy would not do something stupid as that in front of a bunch of people that knew nothing about their secret… How naive of her…

When Roy approached the pile of presents, with a smirk over this lips, Oliver felt his suspicions levels rise tenfold. He tried to look down, towards the place he had last saw Felicity talking happily with Sara, but she was now missing, and so, he was left watching, from the stairs, how Roy left a gift wrapped in green paper with a big grey bow, over the already big pile of presents.

He quickly descended the stairs, trying to grab the gift before the opening moment started, but Thea, catching him off guard, grabbed his arm and kept him occupied with the talk about the renovations he was going to do in the mansion.

"Seriously, you should really…  _hey_ , are you hearing what I'm saying?" she asked, noticing how her brother kept glancing towards the gifts' directions. "Are you that excited to see what people brought? I think your wife is starting to rub on you…" Thea said with amusement and Oliver rolled his eyes at her.

He gave her a full minute of attention, before he turned once again. But that was enough for half the presents to disappear and Oliver notice they were being transported towards the living room, where his wife would be expecting to open them. Sara and Laurel were happily carrying some of those now and he looked into their arms to find no clue of Roy's gift.

Oliver left his sister talking alone to run towards the room, trying to find the gift he saw Roy leaving on the pile.

"What's going on? It looks like you saw a ghost…" Diggle tried to grab his friend's arm, noticing Oliver's expression.

"Did you see Roy? Or a green wrapped gift?" Oliver asked and Diggle looked at him, like he had lost his mind. But then, he looked at Felicity and noticed the thing in her hands. "Like that one?" Dig replied, pointing towards the woman's hands.

Oliver's head shot towards his wife, noticing her seating in a sofa, surrounded by wrapped gifts and smiling people. He couldn't go there and rip it from her hands, not with everyone watching… all he could do was wait his brother-in-law didn't try to make one of his stupid jokes.

When Felicity opened the box, he saw her eyes widen and then a laugh fall from her lips. She grabbed an onesie, turning it around for everyone to see.

" _I love my uncle Roy more_ " it said on the front and Oliver sighed, at least it could be worst.

And then, Felicity grabbed another one from the box.

" _My mommy loves the salmon ladder_ ", the next said, and Oliver noticed Felicity's cheeks blushing and how almost everyone in the room looked confused about what a salmon leader was and why Felicity would like it…

And she kept taking clothes from the box.

" _My daddy can **fire**  yours_" (double entendre on fire)

" _My daddy doesn't likes tennis balls_ " (yes, he doesn't, the lair's wall was proof enough)

_"_ _If you take my toys, aunt Nyssa will present herself to you"_ (and you won't like it...)

"Oh oh…" Diggle said from beside Oliver, realizing what Oliver's fear was all about. And the worst part was that he chuckled at it, his friend was laughing at his unease. Oliver was looking at him, revolted, when Lyla's laugh made him look up again, to see the last onesie held by Felicity.

" _My uncle Dig shipped them first_ "

"The kid has taste… and none of that was a lie… especially the last one…" Diggle laughed, clapping Oliver on the back. "Now, go help your wife opening the rest of the presents for your kid!"

 


	22. Relationship - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some relationships are hard on the parents, especially when your dad is Oliver Queen...

 

* * *

Felicity heard the scream as soon as she opened the front door. Her heart stopped, recognizing the voice of her son and letting her jacket and purse fall against the door, she ran towards the stairs as quick as her heels let her, jumping the steps two at a time.

She was so worried, she barely noticed her husband running behind her, alerted by her sudden mad rash and their best friend readying his gun in case they were facing something worse than a fall.

However, when they reached the last step of the stairs, Felicity froze, hearing the words that her son was yelling.

"What the fuck! She is my sister!" Thomas was screeching, making Felicity cringe.

She knew what was happening and what they were going to witness, but no matter how much she tried to stop Oliver and Dig, the two men still outran her, closing the distance between them and the scene she was fearing.

"I told her it would happen!" Felicity mumbled under her breath, while her heels clicked against the wood boards of the floor.

She had lost the men, but when she rounded the corner of the hallway, she almost crashed against Oliver. Her husband was petrified, in the middle of the hallway, watching Thomas screaming to someone inside Emilia's bedroom.

" _If dad knows…!_ "

"What the hell is going on?!" Oliver roared, finally regaining his bearings.

Thomas looked towards the newcomers and his face paled. In that moment, Felicity knew that, no matter how mad he was, the thought of telling his father what he just saw, never passed through his head.

"Shit…" Tommy's lips mouthed.

"Oliver, wait!" Felicity tried to grab her husband's arm, but he was able of pulling away, before she could touch him. She knew the power of her touch and he knew that as well, which explained the quickness with which he evaded her body.

"Emilia Moira Queen!" Oliver called, stopping beside his son and looking into the room of his daughter. He was expecting all the outrageous scenes he could come up with, but what he found left him speechless.

Diggle stopped right behind Oliver and just like his friend stood there, frozen.

"Andy?" Dig called and Felicity quickly approached the rest of the group to see her daughter and John's son in Emilia's couch.

Andrew had lipstick smeared all over his lips and Emilia's hair was rumpled.

"Out!" Oliver said, pointing an accusing finger towards Andrew.

Andrew rose, even if Emilia tried to pull him down and stop him.

"Uncle Oliver…" Andy said, stopping in front of Oliver and Felicity noticed, with pride, how he didn't show any fear. "I disrespected your trust, not by falling for Emilia, but for not telling you when I realized she felt the same. We should have told you and for that I apologize, but not for loving her…" Andrew stated, with his eyes glued to Oliver's.

"Andrew…" John said, his hand grabbing Oliver's shoulder. "I think you should go home…"

Andrew looked at his father and noticing his serious look, looked back towards Emilia, smiled softly at her and then walked away. Felicity noticed the way Oliver's shoulders tensed when his nephew walked around him without looking at him.

"I will talk with him…" John said, squeezing Oliver's shoulder, before walking away, following his son.

"Thomas, go to your room…" Oliver asked and when he tried to fight back, probably to held his position beside his sister, Felicity sent him a look that clearly said he should go. "Emilia, I will talk to you later…"

And before Felicity could say anything, Oliver walked towards their bedroom.

"I will talk to him…" Felicity whispered, kissing her daughter's head.

Emilia tried to smile, but her eyes were downcast and guilty.

When Felicity closed her bedroom door behind her, Oliver was already playing with his tie, taking it from around his neck, like it had mortally wounded him, his jacket already over one of the chairs. She saw him moving around the room, walking silently, while opening the buttons of his shirt. When he sat over their bed, she closed the distance between them, and sat beside her husband.

"You knew…" Oliver whispered, strangely calm, and Felicity knew immediately what he was talking about.

"Yes… how do you know?" Felicity knew that lying would take her nowhere.

"You didn't freak out or started rambling with innuendos thrown into the mix…" Oliver explained, shrugging his shoulders.

Felicity's hands jumped to his shoulders, trying to relax his tense muscles with her fingers and after a few seconds of Oliver trying to keep his rigid posture, he finally gave up and let her do her magic.

"I found Andy singing her favorite song… while she was dancing in front of him with such a happy smile I immediately knew…" Felicity told him. "Her smile reminded me of yours own whenever you look at me… and when they begged me to not tell anyone I could see they were serious about each other… If I thought they would hurt each other I wouldn't let them get away with the secret… but they were so happy together…" Felicity said, kissing Oliver's back, while pulling his shirt lower, so her lips could touch his skin.

"He is older than her…" Oliver sighed, trying to keep his focus on the matter at hands, and not Felicity's lips.

"And he is also the most responsible man you know, including your own son… He protects her like no one else, he loves her, Oliver… Isn't that what we want for our kids? That they can find someone that will love them and protect them? They lied, and it was wrong of them, and me, if you go there, but they thought you wouldn't accept it… and what a shock, you just made Andy, the boy you loved like a son since he was born, feel like he disappointed you! The boy that took a beating because he was defending your son from a bully, the boy that helped your daughter find love for the first time, the boy that once told me I was brilliant after he saw me fighting with a rebellious Tommy… Please, Oliver…" Felicity whispered, her lips trailing his neck. "Don't let your overprotective daddy nature cloud your judgment… Andy is the best man for your daughter… he is almost as protective of her as you are, and that is saying something!" Felicity chuckled. Her lips left his skin and she rose from the bed, to kneel in front of her husband, on the floor. She grabbed his hands and squeezed them. "Oliver…" she whispered and he sighed.

"How can you do that?" he asked and she looked at him, confused.

"Just say all those things and get me to agree with you in less than five minutes? Are you sure you are not taking some hypnosis class?" Oliver replied with a smirk and Felicity slapped him on the tight, playfully.

"And now what?" she asked.

"Now, I'm gonna let them fear my reaction for twelve hours, while I ravish my wife in the most sinful ways…" Oliver said, pulling her against his chest and rolling them around, so she was under him. "You are a remarkable woman, Felicity Megan Smoak-Queen…"

"Thank you for remarking on it…" she chuckled and then moaned when Oliver's lips planted themselves in a spot right over her bullet scar.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of part 1. I'll actually have a 4-part arc with Emilia and Andrew's relationship... I hope you like it.


	23. Relationships - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver and Mia talk about her relationship with Andrew.

 

* * *

"Emilia?" Oliver called, knocking on his daughter's bedroom door. She was reading a book, the cover of Jane Eyre appearing behind the gaps between her fingers. It was a companion in moments of anxiety and judging by the part already read she spent the entire night immersed in Brontë's world.

Emilia looked up, biting her lower lip in a precise copy of her mother's nervous movement.

"Can I come in?" Oliver asked and saw her eyebrows shot up towards her hairline. She was surprised he was asking and not barging into her room, which might work in his favor…

Emilia nodded, her hand moving and pointing towards the place beside her, on the bed.

Oliver sat over her mattress, his thumb and finger rubbing together in an unconscious movement.

"How long have you been seeing Andrew?" Oliver asked, cocking his head to the side to see his daughter putting the book down.

"Four months…" she whispered, looking at him from behind her eyelashes. "Look dad, I know it was wrong of us to hide it, but if you think I'm gonna let him go, you are mistaken!" she said suddenly, the fire in her eyes reviving in such a strong way Oliver had to keep the smile from his face, she was just like her mother in that area.

"Emilia, do you know what was the first thing I said to your mother when I held you in my arms, for the first time?" Oliver asked and Emilia shook her head.  _"I will always put her happiness in front of my own, Felicity. I promise you that!"_

Emilia looked at Oliver with a barely repressed relieve, a bit of awareness still standing in her blue eyes.

"And I kept that promise for twenty years… I think it's a bit late to start breaking it now, don't you think?" Oliver continued, a soft smile appearing in his lips.

"Dad, does this mean that you are okay with Andrew and I?" Emilia replied, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Yes…" Oliver sighed and Emilia squealed in delight, her arms jumping to surround her father's neck and pulling him backwards towards the bed.

Oliver laughed at his daughter's display of unguarded and pure happiness and started tickling her, making her scream and try to run from him.

"But…" Oliver said suddenly and Emilia stopped in the middle of the room to watch him with veiled eyes. "There are some rules… No closed doors… No kissing in front of the parents… No nights spent trashing hotel rooms…" Oliver said and Emilia's eyes widen at the last one.

"Hotels? Seriously, dad? Are you ripping rules from your own days of youth?" she said, barely concealing the laugh in her voice.

"Actually, let's say our honeymoon was quite eventful…" Felicity said suddenly from the threshold of the door and Emilia turned around with a disgusted expression on her face.

"Ew, mom, ew… TMI!" she yelled, trying to block her parents' laughs with her hands over her ears.

"Emilia, I think you should call Andy and invite him to dinner tonight…" Felicity suggested and Emilia looked at her with apprehension.

"Are you going to share any more awkward moments from your honeymoon?" Emilia asked and Felicity smiled.

"Not on purpose…" Felicity replied, shrugging her shoulders. Emilia sighed, it was the best she could get and she knew it. So, grabbing her phone, she selected Andy's name from the contacts and waited for her parents to leave the room.

"Oh no, we really want to see this… and how you are going to convince him that your dad doesn't want to kill him…" Felicity said and Emilia rolled her eyes.

"Andy! Hi… Yes, he was a bit, but we talked… Actually they want you to have dinner here tonight… No, my dad won't cook… No… I guess my mom traded some sexual favors so he agreed with this…" Emilia said bashfully and Felicity gasped in shock.

Emilia turned around to smile innocently at her mother, while behind her, his father laughed and it actually made her cringe. She was just joking, trying to get back at her mother, but the possibility that she might have hit close to home made her spin around to face her dad.

"DAD!" she yelled, while Oliver roared with laughter. "God, why can't you be boring like all the other parents… Oh, not yours, Andy, they are just as bad… I think we are doomed…"

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? I love a playful Oliver making fun of his kids


	24. Relationship - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lyla shows why she is the boss of bosses and that women are much quicker at finding secrets than men, especially if said men are called John and Oliver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Kimmers who gave me this great idea and turned a 3-chapters arc into 4-chapters. I hope you enjoy the Diggle-Michaels family. But no, I won't write the dinner, it was made just as a comic thing, I don't have any idea about it, just that it would probably be very embarrassing. Well, the last part will be in the future, you will see what I meant...

 

" _Hey, Annie called, she will be a bit late for di_ …" Lyla was saying from the kitchen, but when she saw the expression on her son and husband's face she interrupted herself. "What happened?" she asked, going immediately towards the two men, checking if there was some kind of injuries in their bodies.

"Tommy found Emilia and Andrew kissing right when we arrived at the Queen Mansion…" John said and Lyla turned to look at her son with rapturous eyes.

"Uncle Oliver was not happy about that…" Andy sighed, letting himself fall over the couch.

"Andrew…" his mom whispered and he looked up, his eyes filled with guilt and confusion.

"He looked at me like he didn't know me…" Andy stated and John sighed.

He sat beside his son, his large hand over the younger man's shoulder in a supportive way. John squeezed it.

"You know your uncle Oliver has a hard past…" John said and Andrew nodded.

"I know, with all that island stuff and the rest of it…" the younger man completed.

"Yes, and because of that he learned how to school his features and his emotions… And when you find another person in your daughter's bedroom, doing god knows what, that person is really lucky that the father can control its temper… You were lucky, if I had ever found that boyfriend of your sister in her bedroom I would probably punch him… And believe me, Oliver's punches are not something to play with…" John said with a smile, nudging his son with his shoulder. "Your uncle is not angry, he is surprised, maybe a bit hurt because you kept it from him, but I've known him for far too long to know when he is really mad… And if he was, you would have the proof in your body to tell the story… or we wouldn't have a body at all.. He cares about you, both of you, too much to be really mad… Maybe he will need your aunt's help to realize that, but don't worry, Oliver is not stupid, he learned with his own mistakes how hard it is to be away from the person you love…" John said, recalling a painful part of Felicity and Oliver's past.

Lyla sat in the other side of her son, her hand combing his unruly hair.

"And besides, Felicity and I were already wondering when you would tell your fathers about this… We were getting a bit antsy…" Lyla put in and the two men sitting beside her on the couch, turned to face her, shocked.

"You knew?" they both asked and Lyla laughed, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Please, I work in a governmental entity to protect this country, uncovering plans of any kind of attacks against citizens and I wouldn't be able to discover that my son is dating my niece? You wound me, guys!" Lyla replied playfully and John laughed at her, while Andrew blushed.

A door behind them opened and the family turned around to see a woman carrying a large bag enter the room. She stopped when she saw the three people sitting in the couch and furrowed her brows.

"Oooohhh, family reunion… What did Andy do?" she asked and the said man scowled at her.

"Annie…" John sighed with fondness and she smiled.

"Oliver found out your brother was dating Mia…" Lyla said, while her daughter kissed her cheek and walked towards her dad to do the same.

"Only now? Gosh, I have to tease him that he is getting old…" Annie stated, while putting her bag and jacket over the couch.

"You knew too?" John and Andy asked once again and Annie sighed, looking exactly like her mom.

"I earn my life analyzing people, don't you think I could find out?"

John looked at his wife.

"We bow humbly under the powers of women…" he sighed, while his son face-palmed.

_Seriously, there they were, keeping it all under wraps and almost half of their family already knew, now it would be especially bizarre if…_

"By the way, Sara knows too…" Lyla put in and Andrew groaned.  _Yup, it just even more bizarre._

* * *

****

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it, I absolutely freaking love Lyla and Diggle's relationship, they are what I want for Oliver and Felicity, balancing crime fight and their family.


	25. The day they let her go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver muses on his daughter's future with Felicity's support.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the last chapter of Emilia and Andrew's arc. From now on, independent chapters once again.

 

* * *

Felicity was searching for her husband. Well, search was not the right choice of words, since she knew where he was… She was kind of waiting until the right moment to find him, it was better said that way. Her long green dress kept her from walking with the speed she liked, however, when she found him, she was sure it was in the right moment.

He was sitting on a queen sized bed, a small plush elephant between his fingers. The walls around him painted of a light purple, some teddy bears over the bed, and paintings of flowers and butterflies over the walls.

"What are you doing here?" Felicity asked and he turned around to see her standing against the door frame. Behind her he could hear different voices mingling with each other, conversations floating around like feathers.

Since he didn't answer back, she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her, muffling the noise of their guests. The sound of her dress touching the ground was the only noise in the room, beside their breathing patterns.

"She has been asking for you…" Felicity said, breaking the silence and sitting beside Oliver.

Since he remained soundless, her eyes wandered around. She observed the place around her, committing every detail into her memory. She couldn't say how many hours she spent in here, first painting it of a light yellow and then, when the girl was old enough to choose for herself, helping her with the purple style. She could still remember how the crib looked beside the window and how her son liked to look over the rail and make his sister laugh with weird faces.

It was like something from a dream, something she remembered but couldn't touch, tangible but abstract at the same time…

She could still smell the scent of the baby when they first brought her from the hospital, so soft, so sweet… Or the tea Oliver used to make when she was sick with some of the herbs he brought from his last trip to the island to check on the prisoners… The way it felt to fall asleep with a small finger surrounding your index finger… Or waking up to see your husband playing with the children, creating castles where warriors battled for their lives…

Oliver sighed and his hand searched hers. She could feel the warmness of her fingers sipping into his colder ones.

"It's time, isn't it?" he asked and Felicity nodded.

"We have to let her go…" she replied back, but just like her husband's, her voice was embargoed with nostalgia.

"He is a good man, right?" Oliver asked and Felicity chuckled.

"Yes, he is, even if you wanted to kill him when you saw them kiss for the first time… He learned from my favorite boys after all…" Felicity smiled, nudging his shoulder.

"She won't forget us, right?" he asked, and looking into his wife's eyes he could see the understanding behind her blue irises. He knew he was being foolish, but he couldn't stop his doubts from resurfacing and roaring their ugly head.

"She could never forget her daddy, Oliver…" Felicity calmed him, kissing his cheek and then his mouth. She felt his smile against her lips. "Now, let's go, before she comes here and kicks us out of the room…"

Felicity rose, her hand firmly held between Oliver's fingers. She pulled him against her and hugged her husband, squeezing his body with her arms.

"She is going to be happy, just like we are…" Felicity whispered and kissed him on the lips once again.

"Oh c'mon! Not even in your daughter's wedding day can you stop with that?! Even Uncle John and Aunt Lyla are behaving for Andy's sake!" a voice yelled from the threshold and the couple parted to see a beautiful woman in a white dress looking at them, her hands on her hips.

"Sorry, honey…" Oliver said sheepishly and arranging his tie he stepped out of the room, one of his hands holding Felicity's and the other their daughter's.

"So, are you ready?" his son asked him, when Oliver stopped in front of the tent, outside of the mansion, where the ceremony was going to be held.

"I think so…" he answered truthfully, eyeing his older son playing with the baby in his arms. "You will understand how it feels someday…"

"Yes, but for now I will enjoy being the only man in her life…" the younger man replied, cooing to his daughter.

"Emilia deserves this happiness… Even if it pains me to see her go, she is an adult, she has to live her own life and not the one we would want for her… It's time for her to make her own choices and her own mistakes… Have her own victories and achievements..." Oliver said, sighing. And then, he walked towards the girl waiting for him. He tucked her hand beside his own and with his head held high proudly walked his only daughter down the aisle, towards his smiling nephew, waiting to make her happy.

 


	26. Untimely arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting with Bruce Wayne might make Oliver lose the one happening he doesn't want to...

 

* * *

"You have everything you need, right?" Felicity asked from the doorway, watching her husband recheck his suitcase in case he missed something.

"I think so, but I can't stop the feeling there's something I'm forgetting…" Oliver replied, stretching his back.

Felicity walked inside the room and started rubbing his shoulders, getting rid of his kinks.

"It's nerves…" she said softly and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"It's not nerves… You know I don't like leaving you like this, especially now…" Oliver replied, turning to face her.

"But you need to go to that meeting… You already postponed it twice and you know how Bruce gets when it doesn't go according to his plans…" Felicity stated and Oliver huffed.

"Stupid bat-fan…" Oliver growled and Felicity chuckled.

"Now, now, don't go making fun of each other's hero identity… You know how Selina gets if you make fun of him…" Felicity laughed and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"She is always making fun of him…" he recalled and Felicity nodded appreciatively.

"Yes, exactly. She is the only one that can make fun of him, just like I'm the only one that can make fun of you…" she said with an innocent smile, while arranging his jacket's lapels.

Running steps echoed behind the couple and they turned around to face the five years old boy running with a plush toy under his arm.

"Daddy, daddy! Can you give this to Uncle Bruce? It's a black dragon that looks just like a bat!" Tommy said excitedly and Oliver smiled forcedly. The bond between his sweet, great son and that bastard of Wayne was something he could never understand. According to Felicity, he loved the man too, just was too stubborn to admit that since he got the police in Gotham to use his Bat signal right before Oliver could convince Quentin that they needed a quicker way of communication.

Oliver grabbed his suitcase and brought it to the doorway.

"I love you…" he whispered against Felicity's lips and she smiled, whispering the same words back in a deep lusty way that made Oliver's pupils dilate. The only thing stopping him from ravaging her was the little boy watching them with a smile.

"I will bring you something cool…" Oliver said, hugging his son and the boy smiled. "Take care of your mom, okay? If anything happens call me or Uncle Dig immediately." Oliver told his son and the boy nodded like a little soldier.

"Your mom and Lance are always with their phones on, I told Donna specifically to always use hers, Thea and Roy will be ready to come here, just in case, even during Verdant's opening hours, Lyla has her emergency phone always with her, Sara told me she was arriving tomorrow morning, Barry said he could be here in a few minutes and Laurel and Ted are just a phone call away." Oliver listed and Felicity sighed.

"Everything will be fine!" Felicity said, exaggerating the last word and Oliver kissed her again.

Seeing her husband depart with her best friend, Felicity sighed. He was bordering on over-reaction into paranoid.

And just to make sure everything was as he planned, during the next hour, Felicity received text messages from everyone mentioned above, asking how she was and if she needed anything.

* * *

"I thought it would be harder to make you come here…" Bruce said as a way of greeting when Oliver stepped into his office.

"Cut the crap. I don't have time for this. I want to be in Starling by dawn…" Oliver replied and he felt Diggle chuckle silently behind him.

"So, Felicity made you come… And how is she? Are you ready?" Bruce asked and Oliver noticed the true sincerity in his words.

"Of course, it's not going to be the first time. I have everything planned. We still have fifteen days, that's why I came today." Oliver explained, while taking from his briefcase a pile of papers and the plush toy Tommy gave him. Bruce eyed it with surprise and smiled when he realized who it was from.

"I won't lose my daughter's birth because of a meeting with you…" Oliver said and Bruce chuckled darkly.

"Selina wants to go to Starling next week to see Felicity, maybe we should wait a bit more and just go when the baby is born…" Bruce replied and Oliver was ready to answer him when his, Diggle's and Bruce's phones started ringing at the same time.

"It's time!" Tommy yelled in Oliver's ear and he could hear a lot of voices behind his son's: Felicity's grunts of pain, Laurel's soothing words and Ted's quick talk. Then another voice spoke.

"You better get in here, Oliver Jonas Queen! My baby girl is not going to be alone for this!" Donna yelled.

"Get him here!" Lyla commanded to Diggle, with Thea's yelling words on the background, telling Roy to grab the baby's bag.

"Get a fucking chopper!" Sara ordered when Bruce picked up. "I'm not getting into that laboring room with her, she will break my hand and I need all of my fingers to grab my Bo staff!"

"Queen, go in my chopper!" Bruce yelled, pushing Oliver out of his office and running up the stairs towards the roof of Wayne Enterprises. "It's ready to go!"

Oliver jumped inside the helicopter, with Diggle behind him and yelled at Bruce.

"I will reschedule this after seeing my daughter!"

Bruce laughed and run out of the roof, his jacket flowing around him with the picking wind.

* * *

"Am I late?" Oliver screamed when he opened the waiting room's door.

"No, just go!" Thea pulled him behind her and directed him towards the room where Felicity was. "She wanted to wait for you, so she was too far gone for them to give her an epidural. Just follow the screams…" Thea said smiling and Oliver's face fell. She was in pain because of him, and he run towards her.

She wasn't screaming like Thea joked, she was too stubborn for that, but he could see the high amount of pain she was going through, in her face.

"Honey…" he whispered and Felicity opened her eyes and tried to smile.

Donna was there with her daughter, holding her hand, and she sighed when Oliver appeared. Apparently Felicity was even more stubborn that her mother knew.

"I was just telling the doctors you would get here in time… There's no one more stubborn than you…" Felicity gasped and Oliver grabbed her other hand.

"Except you…" he and Donna replied at the same time, he with a smile and her with barely concealed fear, while the doctor gave Oliver hospital clothes to wear over his own.

Felicity smiled weakly at him, the sweat running down her forehead. Oliver tried to clean it with a fresh cloth one of the nurses gave him, but he could do nothing to alleviate her pain.

Donna kissed her daughter's forehead after the nurse told her only one person could be with Felicity and leveling Oliver with a look that clearly said "You better not pass out", she walked out, pale and nervous.

When, two hours later, they were holding their daughter between them, Oliver felt his phone vibrate inside his pocket. It was a message.

_You own me, Queen. Now, how cute is the kid?_

"What's that?" Felicity asked and Oliver rolled his eyes.

"Wayne's text…" he replied, showing her his phone.

Felicity laughed.

"See, I told you, you two love each other…" Felicity replied and Oliver huffed.

"He has to count himself lucky that his stupid meeting didn't make me lose the birth of my daughter…" Oliver said darkly and Felicity shook her head in exasperation.

These two… seriously, they were just too alike… She pitied the day Selina got pregnant… Bruce would have a field day with Oliver.

 


	27. Oliver Queen vs Nyssa al Ghul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyssa and Oliver fight for the love a little girl...

 

* * *

The Queen mansion woke up with a sudden screech of happiness.

Thomas Queen peaked from under his comforter, already imagining the culprit behind the god awful noise running around in the corridor. His only answer was to turn around and cover his head with his duvet.

Oliver Queen immediately jumped from his warm and comforting bed when the noise echoed, at first worried, immediately prepared in a fighting stance, to the next second realize what was happening and sigh in relieve and a bit of dread.

Felicity Smoak-Queen woke up when her husband rolled against her and spooned her frame, whispering softly in her ear. For her own defense she had slept four hours for the last three days and her energy levels were dangerous low.

"Your kid is awake." Oliver whispered and Felicity sighed.

"She is your kid too." the woman half grumbled half sighed against her pillow, her eyelids already dropping. "And I know what she wants."

When Oliver looked over his wife's hair she was already asleep. He smiled softly at her and slipped from the bed. The last nights had been rough on her, not only because of Arrow's business, but Felicity's Applied Sciences was delivering a new project under the control of her old IT Department, and she wouldn't have it any less than perfect, especially when she would have to leave the company next week to fulfill her responsibilities as CEO of QC, a position she shared with Oliver, but that gave her too much work nonetheless.

When Oliver found his daughter running through the hallway, he crouched down and grabbed her, making her squeal in delight.

"It's Carnival day!" Emilia yelled, laughing, while her father transported her towards the kitchen.

"Yes, it is… Do you know what you want to see?" Oliver asked and Emilia's face scrunched in deep thoughts.

"The giant wheel! And the pirate ship! And the haunted house!" the little girl laughed and Oliver nodded to each of her desires.

* * *

"Where are they? They are late!" Emilia moaned, with her small arms crossed in front of her chest in an annoyed stance.

"They are almost here! Sara texted me!" Felicity said, showing her phone to her daughter and she signed dramatically.

"Emilia, all your rides will still be there when you enter…" Tommy said, smiling at his younger sister, but she was no longer paying him any attention.

With a squeal of delight, she took off running towards two approaching women.

"Godie Sara! Aunt Nyssa!" Emilia yelled, jumping into the inviting arms of her godmother.

"Hey, Mia…" Sara laughed, kissing the girl's cheek and tickling her side.

"You are late!" Emilia puffed and Nyssa bended to look into her eyes.

"We are sorry,  _Ameera_ … But we had sudden complications that needed our immediate attention…" Nyssa said, squeezing the girl's fingers.

Emilia smiled at her with deep affection.

"Sara! Nyssa! It's so good to see you!" Felicity yelled, and Sara let go of the young girl to hug her best friend. Nyssa was always less effusive in her physical touches, but Felicity could feel her care in the way she squeezed her fingers.

"C'mon, daddy! We can go now!" Emilia said, grabbing Oliver's hand and dragging him away before he had time to really talk with his friends.

"Where is Dig and Roy?" Sara asked, noticing the absence of the rest of the team.

"Dig doesn't like carnivals, something about a hidden fear of clowns that he refuses to acknowledge and apparently shared by Andy and Annie and Roy had to work in Verdant tonight with Thea…" Felicity explained, keeping the figures of Oliver and Emilia under a watchful eye.

"And how was Egypt?" Tommy asked, excited to hear the news about Sara's travels. He was a fan of the adventurous side of his aunt (if only he knew) and was always excited to hear about the exotic places she visited.

"It was a bit chaotic… but I bought you a gift…" Sara said and Felicity noticed the way she tried to steer away from the topic. Whatever happened in there would probably be worldwide news very soon and Felicity knew it was Sara's own way to keep her nephew in the dark.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look, a penguin! Can I have it? Pleeeeease!" Felicity heard the excited voice of her daughter and looked up to follow her stretched finger.

In front of them was a booth with plush toys and some targets. Rifles stood by the side, waiting the daring contenders.

Oliver looked unsure at his daughter.

"I will win this token for your,  _Ameera_ …" Nyssa said, bypassing Felicity and smiling at the little girl.

"You are the best, aunt Nyssa!" Emilia squealed and let go of her father's hand to hug the older woman's legs.

Felicity noticed the way her husband tensed and had to hide the smirk in her face.

"I will try to win it too…" Oliver said, the challenging light growing in his eyes.

Tommy face-palmed himself and Sara nudged Felicity's shoulder when the two loves of their lives took their position in front of the booth. They could hear the bickering between the two of them.

When Oliver missed the first shot and looked angry towards the vendor accusing him of ill-calibration of the gun, Nyssa only smirked and pointing it to a lower point and hitting the target bull's-eye. Oliver growled under his breath and arranging the riffle he shot again, now hitting the target perfectly in the center. However, since he was able of only obtaining 2 out of 3, and Nyssa did 3 out of 3, she was the one that was able of giving Emilia her adored penguin.

"You should know to never trust a vendor in an establishment like this. They want to make money out of fools like yourself…" Nyssa advised Oliver and he rolled his eyes. However, with Felicity's far from gentle squeeze of his arm, he stopped himself from answering back.

"Daddy?" Emilia called and Oliver looked down to see her observing him with a crease in her forehead.

"Yes, baby?" he asked, crouching in front of her.

"I still love you more, you know, right?" she whispered, so Nyssa wouldn't hear and Oliver laughed out loud. He hugged his daughter and kissed her hair.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Ameera means princess in arabic, at least according to Google Translator.
> 
> I know Oliver is really awesome with guns, but I needed a reason why he would fail and so the poor vendor had to be a cheater.
> 
> And like you can see I absolutely love Nyssa as a doting aunt...


	28. Announcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because there are not only Oliver and Felicity making announcements today...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because SmoakNLance lives shipped by Paul Blackthorne himself!

 

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Felicity asked for the nth time and Oliver smiled at her.

"This way we can tell them all, at the same time, we just have to answer their questions once and…" Oliver stated.

"And you don't have to stay two hours on the phone explaining to my mom how we found ourselves in this…" Felicity interrupted with a smile.

"She can be very…"

"Nosey… Curious… A bit of a gossiper…" Felicity supplied with a fond smile for her mother.

"Intimidating… I can still remember how she was in our wedding, making sure I was not going to hurt you, that I would always put your needs above mine…" Oliver blushed a bit and Felicity chuckled.

"Oh, did she give you tips about our honeymoon?" she asked and Oliver's blush deepened.

"I think we should get outside, they are probably getting suspicious and I want to be us telling them…" Oliver replied, ignoring her laughing question.

Extending his hand, Oliver accepted Felicity's, interlocking their fingers. They walked outside, towards the big table in the garden of the Queen mansion. It was lucky they were having this lunch here, even if the couple wasn't living in the mansion for the next few months while renovations were being made. Felicity shuddered thinking how they could fit everyone into her townhouse without breaking a window.

When they stepped out of the house, the first couple they found was Sara and Nyssa, whispering to each other in a foreign language, Sara winked at them and Nyssa nodded with a soft smile, now a lightness around her frame that always made Felicity smile openly.

Diggle and Lyla were observing their two small children with benevolent eyes, Annie running around the table's legs and Andrew toddling after her. Diggle kissed Felicity's cheek and patted Oliver on the back. They had a sudden impression their friend knew what they were going to tell and shared secret smiles between them.

Laurel and Ted were talking on the opposite side of the table, the man moving his arms in a circle, probably discussing his fight last night.

Roy and Thea were speaking quietly when Oliver called for the table and Roy smiled at Thea with a " _Finally_ " sighed. Thea rolled her eyes with mirth, following him towards the big table.

Felicity called her mom, that was talking with Quentin and for a small moment, she felt like the two older adults were nervous with her approach. Felicity shook her head, trying to get rid of the paranoia when her mom followed her to the table, ending up sitting beside Quentin and in front of her and Oliver in the round table. It was one of Oliver's pet peeves, he was too tired of big rectangular tables that kept people away from each other and if Thea's relieved sigh when she sat between her brother and her fiancee was any indication, she liked the change too.

Oliver grabbed Felicity's hand under the table, when they sat, squeezing her fingers. She squeezed back, sharing a secret smile that made his heart beat faster.

The couple let their guest serve themselves, hoping the food could dissipate part of the surprise.

When everyone was already into the course, talking between each others and eating with alacrity, Oliver rose from his chair gaining his friends' attention. Looking around the table and then fixing his eyes in Donna, Oliver started the speech he spent three nights working on.

"We invited you here not only because we really missed this family reunited like this, but because there's something new that should be shared with everyone." Oliver said with a nervous smile, especially to Donna, that paled and widen her eyes. Oliver observed her change in demeanor and wondered if she knew what he was going to say.

Felicity rose beside him and with a big smile, she opened her mouth.

"We are going to have a baby!"

"Quentin and I are dating!"

Two voices rose at the same time and for a moment everyone was silent.

"What?" Felicity asked.

"I'm going to be an aunt?" Thea yelled.

"You're dating Donna?" Sara asked.

"Was I the only one that for a moment thought Felicity was dating Lance and Donna was having a baby?" Roy chuckled and Diggle rolled his eyes in mirth at the younger man attempt at the lighting the mood.

"Wait! You are dating, like dating  _dating_?" Felicity asked.

"You're pregnant? I can't believe I said that!" Donna moaned.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Laurel asked her father.

"Where is the baby? I wanna play with him!" Annie said from her father's lap, trying to jump and run to Felicity to see where she was hiding the baby.

"Wait! You're pregnant!" Sara yelled, like she had just realized it, and jumped to hug her best friend.

Oliver was left in the middle of that craziness, looking at a dumbfounded Quentin, while Felicity was still asking about her mother's love life, Thea was hammering Roy about what she going to buy for her niece or nephew, Diggle was trying to control Annie and Lyla was rocking Andrew in her lap, Sara was still grinning at Felicity, Nyssa was trying to understand what really was happening while Laurel kept questioning her father about his relationship with Donna, while Ted tried to make her shut up so her father could answer.

Oliver tried to calm everyone down, however, no one was listening to him. He nudged Felicity, trying to request her help and she looked at him from Laurel's arms, that finally let her father be and joined in the new mother's hug fest.

Felicity smiled back at him and looked around.

"OH GOD, MY WATER JUST BROKE!" she yelled and the silence that appeared right after their announce fell over the table once again.

"Thank you, we really wanted everyone to just shut up! I'm like four months pregnant, it's impossible for my water to break… Actually, it isn't, but if that happens it's not a good thing and I really don't want to talk about that…" Felicity said to an entire silent table.

"Okay, since we have two announcements, I think we can first talk about Donna and Quentin…" Felicity said and Oliver looked at her, shocked. He didn't want to talk about his mother-in-law's relationship with his ex-girlfriends' father, he wanted to gloat about his child.

"I met Quentin in your wedding and we started talking and we kind of clicked… He started visiting me in the weekends and we just… got together…" Donna said, looking bashful for the first time talking about a guy in… ever…. Actually Felicity couldn't remember seeing her mother like this before.

"You lied to us! You said you were going fishing!" Laurel said, pointing at herself and Sara.

"Why didn't you tell us? We would have understood…" Sara asked and Quentin sighed.

"I wanted to be sure Donna and I were on the same page… After your mom… it was hard, but… She makes me happy!" Quentin said with a goofy smile and Felicity, Sara and Laurel watched their parents making gooey eyes at each other with an uncomfortable feeling that only kids that saw their parents making out could understand.

"Okay, that's enough about this! I want to hear about my grandchild!" Donna said, jumping from her chair. She ran to Felicity and hugged her daughter, squealing in delight.

"Oh, baby girl, I'm sorry I ruined your announcement, but when Oliver looked at me I thought he knew and I just blurted it out…" Donna apologized and Felicity laughed.

"Another thing we have in common… I kind of blurted it out as well… Oliver got a scare!" Felicity told and everyone laughed around the table.

"So, that's why all my chips kept missing… And that orange cake… And the pickles…" Roy said and then scrunched his nose. "I don't even want to know about that combination…"

Oliver laughed at him. "You don't even know half of it…"

"Wait…" Nyssa said softly behind the two Smoak women. "Does it mean you are sisters now?" she asked Sara and the blonde's smile grew enormously.

"So, I'm going to be an aunt too!" Sara said turning to face Laurel.

"We are going to be aunts!" Laurel replied, high-fiveing Sara, and Oliver heard Thea whine beside him.

"I'll still be the kid's favorite aunt!"

"I always wanted to have siblings! Well, I did get a big brother and a little one…" Felicity laughed when the two Lance sisters hugged her, eyeing Diggle and Roy with fond smiles. The men replied with their silent ones, winking at her playfully, while they both pretended to grab their hearts and give it to her.

"Well, now you got two sisters… even if we were already kind of that…" Sara replied with a smile.

Donna stepped back from the three women and walked back to Quentin.

"See, grouchy man? They are happy with it…" Donna nudged him and Quentin smiled at her, taking one of her curls in his fingers, feeling the softness of it.

"Thank you…" he whispered and Donna looked at him, confused.

"For loving a grouchy man like me and putting up with all my stuff…" Quentin completed and Donna smiled openly at him.

"You might be grouchy, but you are my grouchy man!" she said, before kissing him.

"Mooom!" Felicity moaned.

"Daaad! Get a room!" Sara tried to cover her eyes while laughing out loud.

"There are children present!" Laurel remembered.

Oliver looked around the table, the food forgotten, while everyone laughed and made fun of Quentin that was now blushing profusely while Donna looked completely at ease.

"Let them tease, if they knew what happens behind closed doors they would be speechless…" Donna replied with a smug tone and Felicity, Sara and Laurel banged their heads of the table at the same time.

Oliver felt a laugh bubble inside of him, seeing his wife's red cheeks, and couldn't stop it from falling from his lips, laughing until he was crying.

Felicity rose her head from the table and rolled her eyes at him.

"We are never going to be like that, right?" Felicity asked and behind Oliver, Diggle laughed.

"Sorry, little sister, but you already are… I know more about your sex life because of your rambles and some not so great escapades in the work space, than I ever wanted to do…" Diggle replied and Felicity banged her head on the table once again.

"That child is doomed!" Roy laughed and Thea knocked him on the back of the head.

"That's my niece or nephew you're talking about, Mister! Don't forget I can kick your ass!" she threatened in good humor and Roy stole a kiss from her.

This was what Oliver wanted for his entire life, even when he didn't know it. A family that felt comfortable with each other, cracking jokes, making fun of themselves, hugging and laughing… Oliver smiled at Felicity, kissed her cheek and whispered, not for the first time: "Thank you…"

She just smiled back, squeezed his fingers and winked at him. She knew what he meant and she knew that he knew she was just as grateful for everything they had and everything they conquered through the years.

 


	29. Like a real dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a fight with Oliver, Felicity really needs a dad to talk to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I absolutely adore Quentin and Felicity scenes and this season is really lacking on that department, so, here it is, a bit of Papa Lance.  
> Btw, Oliver and Felicity are together in this one, but I burrowed a bit of a scene from the episode "Draw back your bow".

 

 

* * *

Quentin opened the door to his house and let the blonde woman, following him, enter first. She looked around, surprised at his house's decoration. It was much more homey than she thought it would be and Felicity wondered if this was still the same decoration from nine years ago, when there was a happy family living here.

"It's funny, we've known each other for a while and I never visited your house…" Felicity said, trying to evoke a smile, but failing tremendously.

"Miss Smoak, I bet you know where I lived and my social number and even who my date for the high school prom was…" Quentin replied, closing the door and waving towards the bed.

"It's Felicity, not Miss Smoak, and I have to say you were rather dashing in that tux, Captain!" Felicity sat on the couch, while Quentin, laughing at her words, ran to his kitchen and grabbed a pot of coffee.

He sat beside her on the couch and Felicity started squirming, playing with her skirt and looking at the floor.

"Now, are you going to tell me why I found you at two a.m. in the middle of the street, walking all by yourself?" Quentin asked. "And by the way, it's Quentin, not Captain, I think we already overlapped the formalities…"

Felicity bitten her lower lip, grabbing the cup of coffee to stall for a few moments.

"Felicity, I'm not your father, but finding a very beautiful woman walking alone at night, with tears running down her face is not a good sight…" Lance continued and Felicity understood why he was so careful with her in the way in and how he looked and looked her clothes in search of any clues.

"I was not attacked, Cap… I mean, Quentin… Okay, it's a bit weird…" Felicity scrunched her nose and Lance sighed in relieve. "I… I had a fight with someone… and…" she stuttered and Quentin smiled fondly.

"What did Queen do this time?" he saw her rise her head, the question dancing in her eyes, but seeing his  _who else could it be?_  expression, she didn't ask.

"Today, there were some hard choices to make and… Oliver was not very happy with the ones I did…" Felicity answered, evasively, knowing the less Quentin knew about their missions the better he could deny when someone accused him of working with the Arrow, even if now, he was seen as a hero and not a pariah. But she knew how quickly that could change and even if Quentin Lance was a loyal man, she wanted to keep him in the dark about a lot of their missions as long as possible.

* * *

_"I can't believe you did that!" Oliver yelled when they reached the foundry._

_"Well, if you mean, save your life…" Felicity replied in a just as loud voice._

_"You put yourself in front of a moving train! What the fuck were you thinking? Did you want to end like Sara?"_

_Felicity gasped when he played the Sara card. It was a low blow and he knew it, but he was too angry to really think logically._

_"You don't get to bring Sara into this. She was killed in the most despicable way, he was a coward! What I did was simply the logical decision. Roy was too far, John was not with us, what did you want me to do? Stand there and watch you being made into a pancake?" Felicity yelled back and they heard the foundry's door open and close, signaling Roy's arrival and quick departure at finding them fighting._

_"What if you couldn't get the right key? What if you were killed?" Oliver growled and Felicity put her arms in the air._

_"So what? I would have died saving someone. If that is not an honorable way to die then what is?" she asked and Oliver saw red._

_He grabbed her shoulders and made her look at him._

_"You were stupid and reckless. You could be dead right now. If you don't want to stay in this foundry forever then you will think about what you did." Oliver said in a cold voice, that hurt more than his anger, because he was shutting her down._

_"I'm not a child, Oliver. You already put your life in danger to save mine, why can't I do the same? We protect each other, we are a team…" Felicity said, her eyes shining and Oliver stepped back._

_"Maybe we shouldn't be, if you keep doing this…" he said and Felicity felt like he punched her on the stomach._

_"What do you mean? The Team Arrow or Us?" she asked and Oliver didn't answer, leaving her feeling empty._

_She turned on her heels and stomped out of the foundry, not caring where her feet would take her, only needing to walk, to feel the cold air of the night wake her up. She yelled at some trees and kicked a lamp post and then let the tears run. She knew why he was acting like that, it was clear as water, but it still hurt and it still made her effing mad at him. Yes, it was really, like really really scary, seeing the train approaching and fumbling around in search of the keys for his chains. She could remember his panicked expression, yelling at her to run, to leave him behind, but how could she do that? How could she leave the man she loved behind? It was unthinkable. She could have said she thought about the city and how it would suffer without him, but the truth was, a world without Oliver Queen was not a world she wanted to live in._

_And that's how she felt a car pull up beside her and the voice of Captain Quentin Lance call her name._

* * *

"And he said some thoughtless things… I don't blame him, but they hurt…" Felicity said, quickly wiping her cheeks where her tears were running once again. She hated crying in front of someone else, why she always uses the  _I need some air_  when she feels like her emotional side is winning the battle. However, this time, she couldn't do it, not with Captain Lance looking at her like that…

Felicity tried to understand his expression, it was caring and worried at the same time, but not the same that Oliver uses with her… And then, with a gasp, she realized he was looking at her like a father whose daughter just arrived home, crying. Felicity felt a pang in her chest, when she realized why it took so long for her to understand it and the shock of the situation was enough to stop her tears.

"Felicity…" Quentin said, softly, taking her hand. "You can tell me anything you want, you know that, right? This might seem stupid, but during these last years I watched you grow from a shy, even if babbling girl, into someone that fully found herself and is now a splendor to look at… Sometimes I feel like a proud father… And if you need anything from me, you just ask, okay, honey?" Quentin offered and Felicity bitten her lower lip, to stop her emotional stuttering from making an appearance.

She nodded silently and surprising Quentin, hugged him fiercely.

"I never said this, but I'm really sorry for Sara. She was more than a heroine and she helped me growing up more than I could realize at the time." Felicity whispered and Quentin swallowed his own pain. He hugged her back, squeezing her back and Felicity, in that moment, felt like she wouldn't trade this hug for her own father's.

This man, this father, accepted her for who she is and was proud of the person she became.

"And I'm sorry for keeping that from you… And for the pain you felt and…" Felicity's sobs rose from her throat and mixed with Quentin's, they kept each other above water, telling stories about their lives and about Sara.

Until Quentin's phone ringed and he rose with a groan from the couch. He sighed when he saw the caller and looked at Felicity, that was still observing some photos from Sara's childhood.

"Yes, Queen?" he asked and Felicity looked up.

"Is Felicity with you?" he asked, his voice panicked and fearful.

Quentin smiled at himself and shook his head in disbelief. This man, that never cowered in face of danger was in a mess because of his own feelings towards the brilliant woman in his living room.

"Yes, she is…" Quentin said simply and he heard Oliver sigh.

"Thank god. She left her phone here and I called Dig and Roy and Thea and Laurel and even Barry and his friends and no one knew where she was… We fought and…" Oliver was babbling and Quentin thought that Felicity was probably rubbing on him too much.

"Well, she is with me, but you messed up big time. Now get your head out of your ass!" Quentin bellowed and hanged up the phone. "So, how intimidating was I?" he asked and Felicity chuckled softly.

"Father-like…" she whispered, too low for him to hear.

When Oliver knocked on the door, five minutes later, Quentin opened it and stood on the threshold, while Oliver tried to peak over his shoulder and see Felicity. Both of them knew Oliver could knock him out of the way, but both knew as well he would never do it.

"I don't know what you said or did, but that woman in there is the best you will ever have, while you will have to keep fighting to be the best she has, okay? God knows what she saw in you…" Quentin sighed, letting Oliver pass.

He ran towards Felicity and kneeled in front of her. Quentin was far enough that he couldn't hear what was being said, however, he could see Oliver's pleading eyes and Felicity's pained ones. They were talking, moving their arms around and then, suddenly, they stopped and stood there, looking at each other, like they could read each other's minds. Lance thought it a very complex phenomenon, especially when they moved forward at the same time, without any visible indication, and started kissing each other.

Quentin shook his head in mirth and turned around to walk into his kitchen.

A few moments later, he heard footstep behind him and turned to see Oliver walk into the room.

"Thank you." Oliver said, humbly. Quentin nodded.

"I don't know what you said to make her forgive you, but I hope you don't have to say it again…" the Captain threatened subtly and Oliver nodded in understanding.

"I told her the truth. That I'm a stupid man that fell in love with a brilliant woman, and sometimes my stupidity gets the better of me, and I'm always so afraid of losing her, of seeing her hurt or worse, that when she puts herself in danger to save my worthless live, I get so mad, at her, at me, at those criminals that put her in danger…" Oliver babbled and Quentin couldn't unify this man with the almighty Arrow. "And I just don't know what to do…. Just the thought of seeing her getting hurt breaks my entire being. I no longer know how to function without her…" Oliver started pacing the kitchen mid-rant and was now stopping suddenly in front of Quentin. "I don't know how to function without her…" he repeated slower this time and Quentin saw a slow, weird smile appear in Oliver's face.

Oliver looked at Quentin like he wasn't there, like he was seeing something else and the next words that left his mouth made the Captain jump.

"I'm gonna ask her to marry me!"

"What? Like right now?"

Oliver's smile fell when he realized what he really was going to do.

"No, she deserves better than a rushed question… But first, Mr. Lance, I would like to ask your permission…" Oliver asked and Quentin looked at him like he was nuts. "You are like a father to Felicity…" he said simply and Quentin felt another lump rise inside his throat, seriously, what were this kids on, making him all emotional.

"You have to promise that you will put her happiness in front of all of your decisions! She is a precious woman, there are not a lot like her and she deserves everything in the world! And remember, if you hurt her, I know how to use a gun." Quentin said, trying to look tough, but a fond smile appeared in his face. "Make her happy, Oliver." He whispered and Oliver nodded seriously, turning around and walking out of the kitchen.

Quentin waited until Felicity appeared to say goodbye to leave the room and watch the two of them walk to his bike.

"Be careful with that deathtrap!" he yelled and Felicity looked back before putting her helmet, with a caring smile on her face.

Quentin waved at them, while Oliver drove carefully away from his house. The man sighed, before closing the door and letting his eyes fall over a picture of Sara.

"You got yourself some very good friends, kiddo." He whispered to her, letting a last tear fall, before touching her face softly and walking back to his living room.

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how was it with Papa Lance's feelings? I have to confess the last scene with him watching Sara's photograph makes me a bit emotional myself. Yup, I'm not even close to be over her death. I'm still desperately waiting for a Lazarus Pit to appear on the show and bring her back...
> 
> I know we didn't have baby Olicity in this one, but Quentin Lance is really worth, right folks?
> 
> Please review and tell me what you thought!


	30. That time of the month

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While his son is freaking out, Oliver shows how good a husband and father he can be to his girls...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With all this angst going around, we needed something amusing. And I really believe guys should learn about this, god knows we suffer every month!

 

  


* * *

Oliver Queen knew something was wrong. He couldn't pinpoint what first gave it away, but seeing his son running down the front steps towards his car was probably a really good indication.

Even before the car stopped, Oliver was already opening the door, jumping to the gravel ground and running towards his son. He noticed Diggle's lowering the window and getting ready to get out as well.

"They are crazy!" Tommy said, a desperate expression appearing in his son's normally brave face.

Oliver grabbed Thomas's elbows and tried to ground him.

"What happened?" Oliver asked and Thomas looked towards the house and around, like he was making sure they were all by themselves.

"It's that time of the month!" he whispered horrified and Oliver's face blanked.

"Are you serious?" Oliver asked and then a loud laugh exploded from within and Oliver's head rolled back with the force of his laugh.

He could feel Diggle trying to repress the chuckle as well, but seeing his friend's amusement was enough to make him lose it.

Tommy looked at the two men affronted. They had no idea what was happening inside! The two women in the house were crazy! They were never like that before and Thomas was seriously freaked out.

Oliver stopped laughing. Of course he knew that it was that time of the month, that's why he passed through the store before coming home, getting ready for any eventuality.

When he returned to the back seat of the car to retrieve his shopping, Oliver waved Diggle goodbye and saw the man drive away, towards his own family, still chuckling.

"They are in pain! I tried to give them something! Seriously, I took all the pain-killers in the house, but they are not making any effect! Our living room's table looks like a crack house's… And I even gave up all the chocolate in the house! In a moment they are really nice and the other it's like their cat died and I was the one killing it!" Thomas babbled and Oliver chuckled again, to his son's annoyance.

When Oliver entered the living room he found mother and daughter on the sofa, each one with a pained and pale expression over their faces. Thomas stayed behind, accessing his father's actions.

"Hey, beautiful girls…" Oliver said softly. He kissed Felicity's lips and Emilia's forehead before kneeling in front of them. "I know it's been a rough day, but I brought something that might help you…" Oliver said with a smile, bringing his shopping bag upfront.

"Heating pads, mint chocolate cookie ice cream, the right pain killers…" Oliver enunciated, while Felicity and Emilia's hands grabbed the heating pads and put them over their lower trunks, the ice cream resting between them on the couch.

"Thomas, go grab the spoons, please…" Oliver asked and Thomas run away towards the kitchen.

"And, since Dig was kind enough to return your movies from your movie night with Lyla and Sara, I have your favorite right here…" Oliver said, taking two small cases from his jacket pocket.

Felicity sighed, taking the movies from his hands. Giving back the one with the pink neon letters, Felicity saw her husband turn around and put the small device into their multimedia reader.

The movie was just starting when Thomas returned with the spoons. He groaned a bit too loud when he saw what movie was playing.

"Pretty Woman again?" he asked and Felicity turned around with a terrifying glare that made him cower in fear.

Oliver sat between the two women, grabbing a pillow on his way to put over his lap. He knew how much his daughter loved to lay on his lap. With Felicity's head against his shoulder and her hand combing Emilia's hair, they settled to watch the movie.

When the two of them were deep asleep, Thomas, that was still watching them, hesitant, asked his father softly.

"How did you do it? They looked like tigers before you came home…"

"Thomas, I spent the last twenty two years of my life side by side with your mother, and when we started dating the first thing I learned was how I could survive during these days… They are really brave 25 days of the month, those 5 days are their lowest point… If you know your biology, like I only did after Felicity explained it to me, you should know how painful the process is…" Oliver said, looking fondly at the two women sleeping around him. "And we are really lucky they don't have access to any fire weapons…" Oliver completed, choosing not to disclose the info that Felicity might have not only that, but arrows, knifes and even some explosive devices of her own creation…

His son was already scared enough as it was…

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How I wish I had an Oliver just for myself...

**Author's Note:**

> So, did you like it?


End file.
